The Master Challenge: Intro and Kanto Arcs
by NoSignalBlueScreen
Summary: Full summary on first chapter. Ash Misty Brock May Max Drew Paul Dawn Cilan Iris Chili Cress Gary Ritchie Serena Clemont Harley Zoey Barry Solidad Stephan Kenny Kanto Johto Hoenn Sinnoh Unova Kalos The League Tournament The Master Darkness Aura Ash Pokeshipping Contestshipping Ikarishipping Wishfulshipping and more Team Rocket Giovanni Legendaries Ash's Father Journey
1. Ash Returns

Summary: Join Ash and his friends, from all his adventures, on a journey that will test them like never before. They will grow and learn more about each other and themselves than they thought possible. The Pokemon League has announced a tournament and everyone is excited that someone may get the honor to battle the reclusive Master himself. The tournament will start as soon as the contestants can complete a task; to travel the world and come back to the Indigo League after a year to battle to the top, but something dark stirs beneath the surface as enemies old and new attempt to turn the Pokemon World on its head. Watch as the heroes try their best to accomplish their dreams and goals and conquer all the obstacles in their way, but will any of it come at a cost?

{NOTICE: I have decided to separate this story into Arcs. This book will contain the Introduction and Kanto Arcs respectively}

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

**The break between these two "groups" will be explained later in the story.**

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Let the Journey Begin...**

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He was bothered. Normally it wouldn't be such a surprise, he always did this after an adventure and tournament... loss. Maybe that was it? Was he getting tired of losing? Maybe he wasn't cut out for it? Something inside him quickly fought back. _So you're just going to give up? You can do this! Battling comes natural to you! You can't quit, not now, after all you've done!_ Yeah but what had he done? Sure maybe he was a decent opponent... He had received the Orange Island cup and completed the Battle Frontier...

He held up six small coins each about the size of a fifty cent piece. He had grabbed them from the small area by the fireplace where his mother stashed his awards. Each one had its own carving of a pokeball and a small inscription: _Ash Ketchum, Indigo League Conference, Top 16, Ash Ketchum Silver Conference, Top 8, Ash Ketchum, Ever Grande Conference, Top 8, Lily of the Valley Conference, Top 4, Ash Ketchum, Vertress Conference, Top 8. Ash Ketchum Renaissance Conference, Top 4. _These six small coins were his prizes for getting as far as he did in each Conference. Every trainer who made it to at least the top 32 spot would get one. They were small and some would say pointless, but none the less, Ash valued them. A lot of memories in each of these coins... He noted he had done progressively better in each contest up until the recent Vertress Conference and then his debut in the Renaissance Conference was pretty good. Don't misunderstand, Ash was proud of what he had done. Many trainers might have given up by now, especially those who never had made it even as far as the top 32, but Ash had a dream... He wanted to be a Pokemon Master. To do that, he had to battle the reigning Master and win his title, at least that's how most saw it. To get the Master's attention though, he had to win Conferences, not just place highly in them... and then he had to battle the Elites... It just didn't seem like, at this rate, Ash would ever reach his goal. _Maybe you need to go about this differently... Maybe you need to go find yourself, refocus? _Ash thought to himself. Travel alone? He had never considered it, he enjoyed the company of friends as did his protective mother. Maybe though he needed this. He could go train by himself and grow strong, sure you need friends for that too but he was missing the part of him that needed to learn to rely on himself. _I'm turning 18 in a couple months... surely mom will allow me... I'll go train and practice and gather everyone together again... I'm a good trainer and my pokemon are strong... maybe this will turn me into a great trainer._

Ash stroked the napping Pikachu as he lay there thinking. Soon he would tell him and the others of his plan.

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1 year later

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_Dear Trainers of exceptional or noteworthy skill..._

_ Come to attend a tournament of grand spendor. Everything will be on the line. All of your skills and very beings, tested._

_ Come all those who train pokemon, whether for contests, leagues, or other goals. Let us see if a new Master shall be crowned..._

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A tournament was coming up soon. Every now and then the Pokemon League held it, maybe every decade or so. It was held in Kanto's own Indigo Plateau. To enter you needed to have some fairly good achievements under your belt and then complete a secret secondary challenge, discussed during the opening ceremony. Everyone had heard and were coming to see what this contest had in store. A prize of a life time was at stake a mystery pokemon egg and the chance to battle the elites, champions, and eventually the current pokemon master, if you could get that far. Truly it was a challenge of epic proportions. It was also an easier way to sift through all the trainers that had been training since the last decade, and see which ones if any could possibly dethrone the Master.

A small group walked through the village in front of the Indigo Plateau. Misty, Brock, Gary, May, Max, and Dawn. They all looked some older and wore pretty much the same things as always. Misty wore her longer hair in a pony tail on the back of her head with a yellow t-shirt and jean shorts. Dawn no longer wore her cap. May wore her bandana on her neck and her hair was longer. Gary wore a vest with some fur on the sides with his outfit. Max had changed the most now being old enough to travel alone. He wore a brown t-shirt with a white pokeball pattern on it with jeans. Together they were talking together, catching up on what had been going on with each person in their lives since they had seen or talked to each other.

Brock explained he had become a pokemon doctor like he wanted and had taken time off from his breeding center to participate.

Misty had had the opportunity to go on a short adventure, away from her sisters, on her own to catch some new water pokemon to switch things up at the gym.

Gary had begun to study hard with his gramps to become a higher licensed researcher.

May had recently won the Hoenn Grand Festival.

Max had become a trainer and got in the top 8 at the Hoenn League and the Top 16 in the Sinnoh League.

Dawn had been the runner-up for the Kanto Grand Festival.

All of them were really excited for the tournament. Each taking a guess at what the secret challenge was and what the mystery pokemon could be. Suddenly through the conversation, Max popped an important question,

"Hey where's Ash? How is he been doing?"

Misty frowned and with help from Brock and Gary explained to them what they knew.

"He came to the lab one morning and sat down with me and gramps," Gary began, "He seemed in deep thought and I was a little concerned since Ash really isn't a thinker..."

After a hard glare from Misty, he continued

"Anyways he asked my gramps if he was allowed to carry all his pokemon with him so long as he didn't enter any official pokemon league battle. Gramps of course asked him why he'd want to carry so many pokemon and Ash explained he wanted to go on a journey of a different kind."

Brock picked up Gary's story,

"He told us he was going to try and find what part of battling was unique to him alone. He said he was going without anyone. That made me nervous since Ash has always had someone traveling with him. Even in Unova he had Cilan and Iris who are real nice people and in Kalos he had Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie, but Ash told me that was one of the reasons he had to do this. He said he needed to see what he could do himself."

Misty finished up the story,

"He had trained in Kanto some, by the time he showed up at my door. He asked me to help teach him some more about water pokemon. He stayed for a few weeks until he said he had to go. He went to Johto next and then headed through Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova again to visit some places to train and such. Even some place called Kalos was on his list of travel locations. He told me he would see me again before I knew it, when I got scared from him saying he was going alone. That's the last I heard from him, but his mom said he's been staying in touch with her at least..."

"Wow that's really different for Ash... I hope he found what he wanted." May said sadly.

"Yeah well... I just hope we see that dummy at this tournament." Misty said angrily.

"He'll be here Misty," Brock said softly understanding that Misty's anger was her way of being concerned, "If I know one thing about Ash is that he can't turn down a challenge!"

Suddenly they heard some people yell and they turned to see a man riding a Dodrio holding a bag. He wore a Rocket uniform. The group prepared to fight when suddenly they noticed something else. Another figure was close behind riding another pokemon. The Rapidash ran fast past the on-lookers, tailing the Dodrio. The horse pokemon's rider caught Misty's eye... He looked familiar. Everyone looked at each other and decided to help stop the Rocket with that other rider, when Dawn turned to them,

"That rider... he... he had a Pikachu on his shoulder... You don't think?"

Misty said nothing as they all ran to the entrance of the stadium and crowd had formed. On the ground was the Rocket still clutching the bag and the Dodrio was out cold. The Rapidash stood behind its owner. The group realized immediately that Dawn was right.

Ash didn't look too different since only a year had passed. He did stand taller and seemed to have gained some muscle like most boys at 18 do. He had changed his attire. His undershirt was black, he had a jacket over it that was short-sleeved red and had a v-neck. Stripes of white ran around the bottom of his sleeves and jacket. He had his jeans on but they were less baggy than normal and his shoes were black with only a few touches of white and white laces. Finally his hat was red with a white brim and a white half pokeball on the front. On his shoulder was Pikachu, cheeks sparking at the man on the ground. The Rocket spoke up,

"Dumb kid!" the Rocket yelled.

Ash simply smiled, "Hey I'm not on my butt though."

The Rocket's face turned red with fury, "You think you've got me huh, ya little smart-ass? well you are dead wrong!" and with that he threw down a smoke screen. Ash didn't seem to flinch as the smoke surrounded him and the people nearby. Within moments there came a shout,

"See ya later you son of a...akk!" the Rocket's voice was cut off. Ash's voice then rang through the crowd and smoke,

"Pigeot! Blow the smoke away!" The pokemon appeared and obeyed and soon the area was clear again. Standing over the Rocket, holding his shirt collar, was a Lucario.

**Speak such a way to my Master again and I may disregard his wishes not to harm you... **Lucario spat at the Rocket causing some people to murmur. Suddenly a police car came over the nearby hill.

"Hey looks like your ride is here." Ash said nonchalantly.

Officer Jenny and a young girl came out of the car. Jenny came up to the scene and marched towards the Rocket after Lucario backed away. Just as she was about to turn him over to cuff him Ash moved.

_He sensed the movement, the intention, the danger... as she reached over to turn the criminal around... he hoped his training would be good enough to stop him._

Suddenly Ash's friends saw something they never expected to see. Ash ran toward Jenny very fast and pushed her slightly before giving the rocket grunt a swift, blueish punch to the jaw. He collapsed unconscious and when he fell a small knife rolled from his hand. People gasped and Jenny looked at Ash

"Sorry about the push Officer, I just didn't want him to get to you with that knife first..." Ash spoke as he slowly pulled himself back up to his full height.

Lucario walked up behind Ash and spoke, **Master that was excellent, I didn't even sense the knife though I felt he was wanting to hurt her.**

Jenny collected herself and turned towards Ash, "Thank you for your assistance. I'll take this scum off your hands." She turned to leave with the rocket, now cuffed. Ash turned towards the Dodrio and noticed his pokeball on the ground,

"Lucario use Heal pulse on Dodrio."

**As you wish Master**

"It's Ash, not Master! Oh nevermind just heal him."

Lucario did this and the bird stood. Ash walked over to the pokeball and crushed it with his foot, setting the pokemon free. He nodded to it and it nodded back before running off towards to woods, three heads cackling and clucking the whole way.

**He was quite grateful master.**

"Well we were happy to help, right Pikachu?"

"Pikachuchu!"

Slowly the young girl from the police cruiser walked up to him,

"Sir?"

Ash turned to her

"Did... did he have my pokemon with him?" The young girl asked, appearing to be near tears.

Ash put his hand to his chin and stroked a non-existent beard.

"Hmmm... you know I did find something... Do these happen to belong to you?" Ash finished his sentence with a smile showing her he had known what she wanted all along. Between his fingers were three shrunken pokeballs.

"Oh yes! Thanks so much Mister!"

"Hey no problem! Besides everyone was happy to help right guys?"

"Pigeooo!"

"Pikachu!"

"Neigh!"

**Our pleasure, truly**

He passed the pokeballs to the girl and she thanked him once more, by hugging him around the waist, before running off. The crowd had dispersed, Ash returned Pigeot and Lucario and started to mount Rapidash, when a familiar voice called his name.

"Ash Ketchum! Where do you think you're going?" Misty yelled, stomping towards him followed by the rest of the group.

Ash turned around and a happy smile adorned his face, "Guys! It's great to see you!"

"Pikachu Pika Chaaa!" Pikachu squeaked out happily.

Ash held Rapidash's reins as they began to talk.

"Are you guys here for the Challenge too?" Ash asked all of them and they nodded their heads, "Awesome then we can hang out before the ceremony! I'm happy I'm done with my training. I've really missed you guys! I never knew how hard it is to travel alone."

They started to walk towards the restaurant district to get some food, pelting Ash with questions along the way. Misty was surprisingly quiet though

"Hey Ash! where did you catch a Pigeot, Lucario, and Rapidash? Why is that Rapidash a funny color?" Max asked excitedly, happy to see Ash again after so long. He had always seen Ash as a mentor or even an older brother.

"Hey Ash? Is that Pigeot the same one as before?" Brock cut in afterwards. Ash then explained.

"Well yes Brock that was my Pigeot from before. I finally came back to her and she joined back up with me." Brock explained to Max and the others about where Pigeot came from and how she had left to defend a flock. Ash continued to answer Max's earlier question, "As for Lucario I found him north of Johto and it turns out its the same Riolu the Hunter J tried to capture that one time. Again Brock explained to the group the history of Riolu and Dawn helped were she could. Then again Ash continued, "Me and Pikachu had to duck into a cave to hide from a big blizzard. That night I kept having real bad nightmares; I accidentally mushed Pikachu and he electrocuted me and woke me up. I suddenly felt the need to walk outside and I saw a little Riolu face down in the snow. I pulled him inside and tried to warm him. I noticed he had some wounds and I didn't know how long we'd be stuck there so I took a risk..." Ash paused a little unsure if he should continue. He eventually did, "I healed him a little with my aura... I've been practicing with it a little in my spare time and I tried to heal him." Brock, May, Max, and Dawn explained to Misty and Gary about Ash's aura powers. Ash continued his story, "Finally we were able get to a pokemon center. Riolu got healed and told me he was actually looking for me when he passed out and the nightmares was him trying to get help from someone. He told me that he had finished his training and started to travel to grow stronger. He said he remembered me and said that his elders told him that for him to link auras with someone in this day and age was quite remarkable being that there are so few aura adepts left, so Riolu set out to find me. He then became one of my pokemon. As for Rapidash I think he's a shiny pokemon. He was in a herd north of the Safari zone in Kanto but was being attacked by all but one of his group. They, according to Pikachu, thought the Ponyta's blue coloring meant he was born weak, that his fire was cold. I stepped in and told the mother, who was the only one protecting Rapidash, that I would take care of him and make him strong to prove the others in the herd wrong. I've traveled back recently to show her that Rapidash is much stronger now and will only keep getting stronger! Right Rapidash?" The pokemon let out a happy whinny.

"Wow you've been real busy Ash" Dawn said

"I also noticed that Pikachu, Lucario, and Rapidash's fur is very shiny and clean and Pidgeot's plumage is soft-looking and clean as well." Brock smiled

"Yeah, since I was actually the one feeding and completely caring for my pokemon this time... I had to up my game... I figured since we were all traveling together it was a good way to bond too and really get to know each of my pokemon even better. I brushed everyone as often as I could, or waxed their shells and such carefully if it was needed. Good food and a lot of sunshine too." Ash nodded.

"Well I'm glad you're back from training though Ashy-boy, so I can beat you in this tournament!" Gary said jokingly.

"We'll see" Ash said with a confident grin, "Hey Misty, you okay? You've been quiet."

Misty snapped out of her daydreams with a blush, "I'm fine! Can't I just be quiet and listen to your stories?"

"Sure, my bad Misty. I just at least wanna see you smile."

Misty was dumbfounded for a moment. Did Ash just say he wanted to see her smile in a considerate manner? She shook her head mentally... _This is Ash we're talking about._

"Thanks Ash, Sorry I was just thinking about what Brock said about using aura like you did... That's dangerous Ash you could hurt yourself!" Misty said. Ash then smiled that grin of his that for some reason caused something inside Misty to catch every time, she still after years of knowing him, didn't know why it happened or truly what it meant.

"Thanks Misty for worrying, but I've gotten much better now! I was just starting to practice using aura when I met Lucario. Once we get the chance, I'll show you what I can do." Ash replied happily.

Ash returned Rapidash as they walked into the eatery district. They found a burger joint they had heard about that just opened up. You could make your own burger! They found the restaurant and entered. They got seats and started talking again while they waited for their food, each had ordered their own burger. First they discussed their choices,

"I got american cheese, ketchup, pickle, onion, bacon, and egg." Ash spoke fast, "What about you Brock?"

"I decided to try the portobello mushroom burger." Brock replied

"I just got a burger with cheese, pickle, tomato, and lettuce." Misty said cheerily

"I wanted to see how their burger with egg and peanut butter tasted," Gary said getting some funny faces, "Hey I'm a researcher, experimenting is my thing."

"I wanted to try their veggie burger." May spoke next

"I'm getting the burger with everything on it!" Max added

"And I wanted to try the garden burger with all the vegetables they have." Dawn finished. Then more serious discussions started as they waited for their food.

"So we still haven't decided what we think the challenge is and what the prize pokemon is." Max started

"Well I don't know about the challenge... but I do know a way to know what the pokemon prize is." Ash spoke next gathering the attention of his friends.

"How?" was all Gary could muster through his curiosity.

"Well I've been practicing one thing in particular with my aura above all else... My Aura vision and perception. I don't really ever wanna fight anybody with it unless I have to, but I was thinking that my aura vision could help me detect things quicker and make me more aware and alert. I've begun trying to memorize the aura of different pokemon species since every aura of living creatures is different. Though... my power can't penetrate pokeballs yet... maybe their electronics or something make my vision fuzzy. Pokemon eggs though... That's a different story."

"Wow! you're serious? That's awesome!" Dawn said excitedly

"Maybe when we get some free time we could test it out at the breeding center in Pewter I helped set up recently. I'd like to see how accurate you are." Brock said interested in the implications of such a gift.

"Sure, no problem Brock-o." Ash answered.

Finally their food came and they continued talking. Ash handed Pikachu a bowl of ketchup.

"Here buddy, you deserve it after taking down that Dodrio today." Ash praised

"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied accepting his gift.

"Ha ha! Somethings never change." Brock laughed

Misty saw Ash smiling with a goofy smile that almost always split his face in two,

"Yeah. I know what you mean Brock." Though it had been a few years since they had seen each other face to face and not over the video phone before he came back from Kalos, it felt as though he had never left in some ways. His visit during his last year of training had also been nice. They had talked a lot about the good ol' days.

"Do we know who else is competing?" Ash asked everyone suddenly.

"Cilan and Iris are coming" Dawn replied, "And I think Zoey, Kenny, and Barry were as well."

"Drew said he'd be there and Harley jumped in saying he'd be there to beat me." May replied with a roll of her eyes.

"I have a rival or two that are coming." Max answered

"How about Paul, Trip, or any of the others?" Ash asked

"I guess we'll have to see since they travel alone mostly." Brock spoke out

"I imagine Clemont will be coming... since he's a gym leader... I wonder if Serena will be here too..." Ash pondered. Misty remembered that Ash had told her that she had known Ash when they were really young, though until two years ago, she had only seen him for a few days at the summer camp. Misty couldn't help but wonder if she liked Ash. Ash had laughed about how he hadn't remembered her at first. Misty frowned a bit and wondered why she was bothering so much. It had been four years or so since she had really spent a long period of time with him... and one visit last year wouldn't change anything... Would it? Would that kind of feeling stay even after such a gap of time?

They talked more about pokemon and training, catching up more, and finally how strong Ash's pokemon had gotten. They begged him to tell them more about them and he refused to speak.

"No fair Ash!" May whined

"Yeah, Ashy-boy!" Gary agreed

"Wait how come you don't know Gary? Wouldn't they be back at Professor Oak's lab by now?" Misty asked

"Wait, yeah!?" Dawn agreed

Ash smiled wide, "Wanna see a cool trick?"

Everyone nodded, confused, and Pikachu snickered. Ash lifted up his jacket and showed them he somehow didn't have any pokemon on him even though they had seen Pigeot, Rapidash, and Lucario earlier. Ash held out his hand like a magician...

"Get to it!" Gary said impatiently

"Fine." Ash pouted. He held his hand out and a blue light started to glow in his hand and quite quickly formed a solid red and white sphere. The pokeball expanded in Ash's hand and he released its contents.

"Hey Lucario." Ash said smiling, while his friends were grinning

**You summoned me Master?**

"Just showing them my little pokeball trick" Ash replied "Stop calling me master too, it's weird."

**I am your Aura partner and apprentice. I must call you Master, Master.**

"But we're friends Lucario, equals." Ash pleaded

**Sorry Master for upsetting you, I know we are equals, but I simply cannot comply.**

"Alright... no problem. Continue your rest." Ash sighed.

**Thank you Master**

Ash returned Lucario and then held the shrunken ball in his hand until it disappeared the same way it came.

"That's so handy!" May exclaimed "I wish I could do that!"

"No doubt!" Max agreed

"Where do they go?" Gary asked

"Lucario said they go into the Tree of Beginning. They can rest there like at the lab and no one will bother them. I can go in there now cause of this," Ash pulled out a necklace that was around his neck and hidden under his shirt collar. It had a small blue crystal shaped like a pokeball, "I carved it from one of the crystals there when I visited last to meditate with Lucario. Mew told us how it would help the tree not think we were enemies and how I could store my pokemon there. She was happy with that since she's lonely there." Ash answered

"You mean you met Mew and she trusts you!?" Gary said astonished. Brock, May, Max then told the story of their first visit to the Tree of Beginning with Ash. After that story they noticed it was getting late.

Everyone finished eating and paid. They left to go to their cabin they were staying at, letting Ash join them. Sleep came easy to everyone since they were together again.


	2. AN: If you ever need info

**I decided to make this thing it's own chapter:**

**I know the Author's Note is giant but here: You don't have to read it! BUT! If you find something confusing, like character's ages, people in the story, shippings, how I plan to handle Kalos, etc. Here is the place to look later.**

**Author's Note:**

**EDIT: Goodness with all this stuff I almost forgot to say the famous, I don't own pokemon thing... Just my own fanfiction story. Yep I don't own pokemon or any of that copyright stuff so, enjoy!**

**First off, this is my first fanfiction I've ever written so try to be nice in the reviews. I'm open to advice etc, but no flames please. I'm also new to entirely so I'm trying to learn all the nuances.**

**Second, This story has a few things here and there that are slightly inspired by other fanfics, but I have adapted them to my own preferences and such. I couldn't tell you which ones since I've read a lot. Also I'm trying to stay in cannon as much as possible on most accounts, at least regarding previous events. There some somethings that may be different though so be warned. I'm trying to keep everyone in character but there might be moments that are slightly OOC, just chalk it up to the time that has passed it if is Ash that's being OOC. Anything else most likely is my mistake.**

**Third, I am adding some hints to events that happened previous. My story will imply that Red, Blue, Green, and some of the characters from Pokemon Special Manga are much older and some of the events from those stories happened previous to Ash and his friends. I realize there are several issues when trying to do this, but I have adapted them as much as possible. It is my story after all.**

**Fourth, Shippings. You probably already saw that this is a Pokeshipping fanfic. Other than that I will say that the new Amourshipping looks really cute as well. Regardless that wont be happening here. All other shippings are secret for now. I'm not too sure of my ability to write romantic parts but then again there will be no explicit romantic scenes in this story, mostly just fluff. There also won't be any triangles as far as I know for the time being. No male/male, female/female, or human/pokemon either. I'm pretty tame for the most part so if that isn't for you then I guess you should look elsewhere.**

**Fifth, Since I am starting this while the Kalos region anime is just now starting, I don't have much to go on regarding that region. Good news is a lot of that can wait until later in the story. I'm going to have to maybe guess or make up what happened in the Kalos region since this story takes place afterwards. Such as his placement in the league and what other pokemon he catches. Lastly, I don't know about any of the new characters in the Kalos region other than Clemont, Serene, and Bonnie, most specifically Ash's rival in this region. The poll should be completed by now as to what to do about that. Also Bonnie will be in the story but not as much of a main character, she would still be too young to be a trainer in my mind. I don't think they have stated what her age is other than she is too young. Being that it has only been a couple years in my story since Ash was in Kalos, she would still be too young. This part kinda leaks into the final part below. This would mean that there is almost a 10 year difference between Clemont and his sister in my story (See final part below for the issue regarding ages.)**

**Finally, Ages… Goodness Pokemon and the characters' ages. We all know how odd that is. Ash, perpetually ten and his friends 'turning ten' once he reaches their region. For this I worked with what few hints the anime has given us and tried to base all the characters' ages off of Ash's and perhaps a bit of their character. For Example, Zoey seems to be a bit more mature than some of her fellow Co-ordinators, but isn't much taller than Dawn and Kenny, so I made her a year older than Dawn. Things like that. As for age in general, Ash in my story has in fact been aging all this time, roughly a year for each region. One for Kanto, Less than One for the Orange Islands, One for Johto, One for Hoenn, Less than one for the Battle Frontier, One for Sinnoh, One for Unova, and One for Kalos. Rounding off and taking and adding a few days here and there, he starts the story at around 17 years of age, about to turn 18. A year then passes making him 18 about to turn 19 in a few months when the real story starts. Other than that just try to go with the flow regarding ages. Figuring all this out and being anal about it is not worth the time, at least in my opinion. So try to be liniment about that.**

**DONE. So sorry about all that but it had to be explained and now that it is out of the way, we can begin. I shouldn't have to do anything like that again unless something unexpected pops up.**

**Please do tell me if you guys want me to continue. I don't really want to continue unless I feel it's worth posting. I have a lot of spare chapters left over because I've been working on this for a while before I finally decided to post it. So if this does end up being a success there will be plenty of chapters for a while, though I will stagger their publication so that I hopefully have some spare should something pop up.**

**OK now I'm really done :P**

**Thanks for your patience.**


	3. The First Elimination

**Alrighty Chapter 2 here we go!**

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

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Ritchie: 18

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

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Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

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**Hmmm... Had to use z's for breaks in texts, sorry about that.**

**Anyways let the story continue...**

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Brock and Gary were up first the next morning. Brock made some breakfast while Gary read over the newspaper. Soon Misty, May, Dawn, and Max followed suit. Misty then noticed Ash was gone.

"Hey where's Ash?" Misty asked

"If I know him, probably still asleep" Max retorted

"You have no place to talk Max, you little sleepy-head! It took me 10 mins to get you up so you could dress." May smirked causing the room to laugh.

"He-Y!" Max said. His voice cracked making the room of people laugh again.

"He isn't in his room, though." Dawn said getting everyone's attention. She had gone up to wake him with Piplup's Bubblebeam but found he was no where to be seen, while the others were messing with Max.

"You don't think he left again? Do you?" Misty said with a slight tinge of fear on her voice that only Brock seemed to notice.

"Naw, he probably just went out to train or something. Remember he's in this tournament as well, he won't leave." Brock replied trying to hide his efforts to soothe Misty. Then they heard a small and muffled explosion from the forest side of the cabin.

They ran out to see what it was and as they got further into the woods, they saw an intriguing sight. Ash was crouching with Lucario next to him. His hands cupped and close together, he held a baseball sized aura sphere in his hands. Lucario spoke to him,

**Are you concentrating on pulling the energy from your body? Not from your life force but your energy. Can you feel the separation of them? You have to be able to tell the difference; pulling from your life force is quite dangerous.**

"Yeah." Ash answered briefly, concentrating.

**Now release it as you would throw a ball. Aiming is the easy part.**

Ash nodded and stood up slowly. The others could see sweat forming on his brow. He had long ago taken his jacket and shoes off and wore only his black t-shirt and jeans. It had begun to grow darker on his back from sweat. He tossed the sphere at a tree across the small meadow. It struck its mark with a bang. Pikachu cheered.

**Excellent job Master. Continuing to practice like this will help your endurance grow stronger and you will slowly be able to preform more advanced techniques, then I may have to start learning from you at that point**

"Thanks Lucario and you too Pikachu. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'll never get impatient with any pokemon learning a new move again; that's for sure. At the Tree of Beginning, the first time I was there, I formed a sphere the size of a small work-out ball. I guess it was just heat of the moment though."

**Most likely the crystals in the tree helped strengthen your un-trained aura and yes the heat of the moment may have helped. Aura is tied to our emotions and can fluctuate with our feelings.**

Ash nodded at Lucario's response and then turned towards the forest.

"So what'd ya think guys?" Ash asked the group. They stumbled out of the bushes.

"You knew we were here, huh?" May asked

"Yeah I sensed you once you came out of the cabin. Sorry if my spheres woke anyone up. I thought I was far enough away to muffle the noise." Ash replied

"That's so cool Ash!" Max said happily

"Yeah I'm not too good at much of it yet except sensing things, but Lucario said I'm a quick learner." Ash smiled

"Hey guys we need to head over to the stadium the ceremony begins in thirty minutes." Brock informed the group.

"Okay let's get there quick!" Ash smiled "Go!" Ash threw three pokeballs, Pigeot, Rapidash and Charizard came out. Charizard's shiny and rough skin reflected some sunlight as he lifted his proud head, standing next to his fellow pokemon. "Brock get on Pigeot with Dawn, Gary ride Charizard with May and Max, and... Misty you wanna come with me on Rapidash?" Ash spoke to everyone. Misty nodded in answer to his question.

"Wait can Pigeot carry two people?" Brock asked

"And three people on Charizard?" Gary seconded

"Don't worry. They can handle it, I've trained them to, right guys?" Ash answered

"Pigeooh!"

"Char!"

Everyone mounted their rides and soon were off. Ash returned Lucario and Pikachu hopped on his shoulder, then he turned to Misty,

"You ready Mist?"

"Yeah... He won't burn me will he?" Misty questioned

"No way! Rapidash already likes ya, right pal?" Ash explained

"Whinny!" Rapidash pawed happily

"Okay then..." Misty said hesitantly. They mounted the horse with Ash first helping Misty up.

"Watch your step... You're royal highness" Ash said in a mocking tone, thusly getting a foot in his face.

"Shut-up, Ketchum." Misty said. Ash mounted in front of her and spoke again,

"Hold my waist Mist." Misty blushed furiously and was glad he wasn't facing her. After a moment she didn't respond he spoke again, "I don't want you to fall off backwards. Rapidash can go really fast when he's excited. I don't want you hurt." Misty face turned redder at that and slowly she wrapped her arms around his waist. She fought back her blush, just as Ash was fighting a similar blush creeping onto his cheeks unbeknownst to her, and he spoke again turning his head sideways to face her, "You ready?" He said with a wicked grin.

"I think sooooooooo!" Misty screamed the last of the sentence as Rapidash took off at awesome speeds. They galloped for a few minutes until they reached the entrance to the stadium. Rapidash at that point started to trot and Ash held the reins with only one hand, resting the other on the horse pokemon's right shoulder. Misty could see the horse pokemon's soft fur stick out between Ash's fingers as he pet him. Misty then noticed the dreamy looks the girls in the crowd were giving them. Misty realized they must think this is like a scene from a fairy tale. A handsome young man escorting a pretty girl on the back of a beautiful Rapidash. _Wait handsome? Did I just compare Ash to a handsome man? _Misty pondered before she realized Ash was dismounting. He held out his hand to her, oblivious to the world around him. _I've always liked that about him... A dreamer, someone who didn't care ultimately what people thought of him_. Misty shook those thoughts out of her mind as she got down off Rapidash with Ash's help.

"Thanks Ash." Misty said trying to be polite since he didn't necessarily have to help her down.

"Hey no problem Misty." Ash smiled again trying to hold in a blush. His smile made that thing inside Misty catch up her breath.

_She deserves someone to help her off a horse! Who wouldn't wanna help such a beautiful girl? Wait do I think Misty is beautiful? It's been a long time since I've really seen Misty... I've missed her since I visited last year... I wonder why I've missed her so much, I mean I've missed my other friends too..._ Ash thought to himself. He shook the thoughts out of his mind once the others arrived and Ash returned all his pokemon before they entered the Stadium to together.

All the contestants gathered on the battlefield and Mr. Goodshow accompanied by all five regional Champions, plus Steven, began to speak. Ash looked around and noticed some familiar faces as he ignored the boring introductions. He spied Cilan and his brothers, Iris, Trip, Paul, Georgia, Bianca, Burgundy, Stephan, Virgil, Cameron, and even Tobias. He thought he saw Ritchie and a few others but had to turn his attention back to Mr. Goodshow we he started to talk about what they were supposed to do.

"Before we tell you what the secondary mystery challenge is to be allowed to compete in the third, fourth, and fifth sections of the Master Challenge, we must narrow down our entrants." Mr. Goodshow started, causing a lot of murmuring and whispers, "We have around four-thousand and ninety-six entrants here, but we need to narrow that down by half. So today and the rest of the week we will be having elimination battles to see who can continue on. Please draw your attention to the jumbo-tron to see when, where, and who you'll be battling." After a moment the screen had shown everyone's faces next to their opponent. Ash and his friends suddenly realized Ash was to battle first against an Ace Trainer named Francis, in twenty minutes.

"Ash Ketchum of Pallet town and Francis Abadie of Opelucid city, remain near the field for your match. Everyone else please exit the grounds and get where you're needed." Another announcer began.

Misty turned and looked at Ash along with the rest of the group, before they left.

"Wow you're up first Ash! That kinda stinks that you don't get to rest for a moment." Max said sadly

"Max!" May scolded her brother

"It's okay May, I've got this" Ash said calmly. The others gave him encouragement and turned to leave, before they heard a voice,

"You're going down Ketchum." Francis strolled up to the group. He looked like your average blue-haired ace trainer. Misty turned to Ash ready to grab him before he leapt angrily at the outspoken jerk from Opelucid, but what happened next shocked her and the rest of Ash's group

"Don't be so sure. It'll be fun to battle you either way though." Ash said calmly never letting his gaze fall from his opponents eyes. Francis huffed and walked away to wait. Ash's friends said goodbye and started to leave. Misty turned over her shoulder to get one last look at Ash and she smiled at what she saw, Ash was looking over his shoulder at her, giving her a thumbs up with Pikachu copying him, and he was winking at her. She also noticed he was thumbing a pokeball on his belt.

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It was five minutes until Ash's match and Ash's friends had found Cilan, his brothers, and Iris and sat with them to watch the match. Cilan and his brothers still wore their same outfits from before, they had also grown some. Iris wore similar clothing from before though now she wore skinny jeans instead of her skirt and leggings. Her hair was flat now and the only thing about it that remained the same were the two small ponytails that stuck up from her head of hair. They talked about what they knew from Ash's training from the last year, excluding the aura stuff, unsure whether he wanted them to know, and turned to face the field when the announcer's voice came on.

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_Ladies and gentlemen, Boys and girls, are you ready to begin the elimination rounds for the Pokemon League's Masterrrrr Challenge!?_

The crowd yelled excitedly and the announcer continued,

_In the green corner, one of Pallet town's prides; he's entered and placed high in many tournaments, defeated the Orange islands' own Drake, conquered the Battle Frontier, and has been absent from the battle circuit for a year, Kanto's own: Ashhh Ketchummm!_

Two thirds of the crowd cheered for Ash and then quieted down when the announcer began again. Ash had the Kanto home-team advantage.

_And in the red corner, He's an Ace Trainer whose trained under Don George of Opelucid city, He's cool, he's skilled, lets cheer for: Francis Abadie!_

The other third of the crowd cheered for Francis and the announcer began again

_Contestants are you ready to battle?_

Both Ash and Francis nodded. The referee took his place and spoke next

_This battle will be one pokemon each, which ever pokemon faints first is the loser. Trainers choose your pokemon!_

At the same moment they tossed their pokeballs. Ash's Pupitar came out and growled. His shell was shiny and his eyes bright. A blue light glowed within the holes of his shell unbeknownst to everyone but Pupitar and Ash. Francis's Heatmor growled and pushed a very healthy flame out from his tail before retracting it.

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_ Francis has chosen a powerful looking Heatmor and Ash has chosen a Pupitar!_

"Hey! When did Ash get a Pupitar?" Max asked everyone

"Beats me. I suppose within the last year." Gary replied

"Hey Misty... Ash said he went over northwest of Mt. Silver... You don't think that Pupitar is...?" Brock began

"I don't know... I bet you're right Brock. I bet that is the same Larvitar from before." Misty said

Brock and Misty then explained to everyone about the Larvitar they had met during their travels in Johto. Soon though they turned back to the battle when they heard an explosion.

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"Heatmor, Flamethrower!"

"Pupitar, Dark Pulse."

The attacks met with the dark rings of dark pulse and the bright embers of flamethrower mixing, before being canceled out in a large explosion.

"Brickbreak, Heatmor!" Heatmor's fist glowed bright white before attempting to connect with Pupitar.

"Iron Defense."

_Clang._ Pupitar's shell took on a metallic sheen as Heatmor's claw came in contact with him. The attack did next to nothing drawing the attention of more seasoned trainers. The Brickbreak simply bounced off Pupitar's now rigid body.

zzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"That's impressive... That Pupitar's defense is really something special" Gary said while concentrating on the battlefield "That should have done something even with Iron defense since Brickbreak is super-effective against Pupitar, but it didn't seem to do anything."

Brock seemed impressed as well saying that Ash must have trained with Pupitar to strengthen its defense to the max. Everyone turned back as the battle raged.

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"Fine, Let's deal with these cowards and use Dig!" Heatmor disappeared into the churned up ground at Francis' command.

Ash's smile had turned into a frown. Coward... he hated that word and Ash didn't _hate_ many things. This battle was now serious, he smiled as he placed his hand on the peak of his hat and spun it around backwards before issuing the next command.

"Iron defense."

_Clang._ Again the sound rang out, only this time from beneath the Pupitar.

"Ha. Gotcha Ketchum! Flip it Heatmor!" Francis mocked

Heatmor pushed the iron-weighted Pupitar hard before making it land awkwardly on it back. Ash's smile returned...

"Now Flamethrower!" Francis yelled

"Sandstorm." Ash replied calmly

Sand whipped and flew and simply blew the Flamethrower away like it was a puff of smoke. Ash then, to the amusement of a few and the shock of many, closed his eyes.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"What the heck is he doing?!" Chili asked

"Is he... Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Dawn asked quietly

"Yep! He is Dawn," Brock smiled and spoke low so Cilan and his brothers as well as Iris couldn't hear, "He's using Aura vision to see within the storm.

All eyes were glued again to the action.

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"Defense doesn't make someone cowardly you know..." Ash talked now to his opponent, seemingly uninterested in what was going on inside the storm. Standing with his arms crossed.

"Easy for you to say." The trainer snapped back flicking his eyes from the storm to his opponent's closed eyes._ It has to be all show... right? He's messing with my head, he can't know what's going on in there._

"You know... The best offense is a good defense in some cases. Also another bit of advice..." Ash continued

_Who does this guy think he is talking as if he's already won? _ The ace trainer thought angrily.

"You should never underestimate your opponent's strength..." Ash finished opening his eyes simultaneously. Then a bright light came from the storm arching out in rays of blue and a screech from a pokemon came at the same time. Heatmor came flying out, dark energy pulsing from his body, after being blasted by a dark pulse. Then at that moment, the storm stopped and revealed it's second occupant.

"Tyranitar!" The pokemon roared. The armor pokemon's rough skin shined in the light of the sun. His blue chest plate almost glittered enough to look like a sapphire. His dark dark blue eyes looked down at his opponent after he finished his roar. People gasped and yelled in excitement.

_Amazing folks! It appears Ash's Pupitar has evolved while in the sandstorm! I wonder how this will effect the battle_

"Heatmor use..."

"Stone Edge."

Tyranitar crammed his fist into the ground and rock shards shot towards Heatmor. Heatmor got slammed with the move and was knocked back farther.

"Grrr. Heatmor use Flamethrower!"

"Hyper Beam, friend."

Ash's Tyrantitar charged up a yellow arching beam of raw energy and let it loose. It went screaming across the field and struck the Flamethrower. Many in the audience thought a power battle was sure to ensue or at least an explosion, but instead the energy shot through the middle of the flames and with fiery wisps whipping around the beam it headed towards Heatmor.

"Dodge!" Francis cried out in panic.

Heatmor dove to its belly to let the beam miss just barely.

"Ha got you now! Heatmor Brickbreak!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Oh no! Ash's pokemon is in trouble now! It can't move after Hyper beam! And now that Tyranitar evolved, he's dark and rock type, which makes him quadruply weak to Brickbreak!" Iris said worriedly

The others nodded their head in agreement except Misty who spoke next

"Ash... Doesn't even seem worried though." The others took notice of his eager face and watched him intently.

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Ash was smiling because his plan had worked. He knew, unlike most here, that Tyranitar could take one direct Brickbreak, maybe two and still fight strong. During his time away he had trained his Pupitar to resist all kinds of attacks. Tyranitar had one of the best defenses of any of his pokemon. Heatmor was coming in close and that's what he had wanted.

_Crunch._ Heatmor's fist smacked Tyranitar hard. The Psuedo-Legendary flinched and allowed the shockwave to flow through him and into his tail where he then lifted it and smacked the ground causing a mini tremor, just like he had seen some of Ash's other pokemon do. The shockwave headed toward his trainer and he watched as he grabbed the railing of his box as it passed under him. Tyranitar then waited for the final command though slightly nervous about the outcome _after_ he won the battle...

zzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"No way!" May yelled "How'd that Brickbreak not hurt Tyranitar more?"

"I think Ash trained some of his slower pokemon to disperse the power of direct impacts by redirecting the energy through the tail. Sort of like Ground types use their connection to the earth to redirect the energy in lightning and Tyranitar knew to do that from watching Ash's other pokemon train." Brock said while rubbing his chin in thought.

Gary blinked and couple times before replying, "That's... That's genius!" Gary spoke with surprise in his voice.

Misty smiled, "Even though Ash has always been a little dense, when it comes to pokemon battles, he's a natural."

"Yeah! It's so cool to see what crazy ideas Ash comes up with!" Max nodded

"But if what Brock said is true... Then does that mean, Ash knew Pupitar was going to evolve soon? He was using Iron defense at first to combat Brickbreak. Then once the sandstorm started he seemed to know what he was going to do from there." Gary asked causing everyone to think hard

"Could he know that before it happened?" Dawn questioned

"I guess we'll have to ask him after the battle." May replied

Everyone nodded then they turned back to the battle when they heard Ash's voice ring out.

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"Tyranitar, use Outrage."

Francis was still in shock at how Tyranitar had shaken that Brickbreak off like it was nothing and didn't get the chance to give another command.

Tyranitar closed its eyes and grabbed Heatmor by the shoulders, the black grooves on him started to glow a bright blue, and finally the pokemon opened his eyes to show they had turned completely blue as well. Tyranitar lifted Heatmor up and threw him with great force towards the ground then picked him up once more and chucked him towards the side of the arena. Heatmor hit the wall with a loud thud and caused a small crater. It slid down the wall and landed on its belly, swirls in its eyes.

_Heatmor is unable to battle! Ash and Tyranitar are the winners of this Tournament's first match-up! Ash will be continuing in the Master Challenge!_

Francis returned Heatmor and the crowd cheered, until they noticed something was wrong with Tyranitar. It still seemed to be enraged, roaring and flinching with anger. The blue aura still in its eyes and grooves.

_Everyone stay calm... I'm sure one of the champions can help calm down this young man's pokem... Hey wait!_

Ash started walking into the center of the field towards his pokemon. Everyone went deathly silent. His friends looked on wide-eyed. Ash called out to the pokemon once he was halfway to him.

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Misty froze with fear. _What is he doing?! That pokemon could really hurt him! Does he not realize I can't lose him!? _Misty's mind stumbled. _Is... Is that why I've missed him so much? Do... Do I like him like that?_ Misty thought for a second. _I do... After all this time... I can't deny it anymore... I like Ash Ketchum... more than a friend... but how will I ever explain that to him... _Misty's attention focused back on the field. _And will I even get to talk to that crazy idiot again?_

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"Tyranitar!" Ash spoke with force and kindness. The pokemon turned to face him and started to growl. Ash continued walking until he was right in front of his pokemon. Tyranitar didn't move to strike him, but he continued to growl a ferocious way that would make most people run for shelter. "You did a great job, pal." Ash spoke softly now and placed his hand on Tyranitar's blue breast plate. He allowed a small amount of blue energy to pool in his hand. Tyranitar then began to stop glowing and soon changed from growling to looking sadly at his trainer. "It's okay... You didn't hurt anyone or anything. I promised I wouldn't let you, remember?" Ash smiled at Tyranitar and Pikachu spoke as well,

"Pikachu-Pika!" The electric mouse nodded happily. Tyranitar smiled and leaned his head down to touch the top of Ash's own head.

"You battled great! You deserve a good rest after this" Ash responded rubbing Tyranitar's breast plate a little more then backing away to retrieve the pokemon's pokeball. Tyranitar started to smack it's tail against the ground like a dog wagging it's tail. Soon it disappeared into the capsule and then was placed on Ash's belt. The announcer's voice soon came back.

_Well folks there you have it! An excellent battle between two great trainers and a strong bond between Ash and his powerful Tyranitar that prevented a serious problem!_

As he spoke, Ash approached Francis in the middle of the battlefield, and extended his hand out to him

"Thanks for the battle. You did well." Finally the ace trainer shook back with a friendly smile creeping onto his face.

"You too, That Tyranitar of yours is something else and I'll think about what you said..." Francis added.

They separated and walked back into the tunnels. Ash's friends, minus Cilan, Chili, Cress, and Iris, who had plans to go get lunch, soon found Ash and they congratulated him. After they told him that Cilan and the others had said congratulations to him too, they started talking, and asking questions.


	4. Questions and Answers?

**So here's chapter 3! This one finally has a bit more excitement in it.  
Finally, if you have any questions please ask in the reviews.**

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

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Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

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Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

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Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the story continue...

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_Previously..._

_They separated and walked back into the tunnels. Ash's friends, minus Cilan, Chili, Cress, and Iris, who had plans to go get lunch, soon found Ash and they congratulated him telling him Cilan and the others said congratulations to him too, started talking, and asking questions._

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"Ash?" Gary asked suddenly.

"Yeah Gary?" Ash asked.

"Did you know Tyranitar was going to evolve?" Gary replied

Ash was silent for a moment, then

"Yes." Ash said simply

"That's awesome! You planned the second half of your battle around that!? How'd you know?" Max said quickly, unintentionally melting away some of the seriousness of Gary's question.

"Well yes and I knew because of my Aura," Ash began, "Remember when I talked about how I can see what kind of pokemon's in an egg?"

The group nodded as he continued,

"Well It's kinda the same with evolution. I can feel when a pokemon's energy has built up in them. It's like the tides, from low then high, and at high tide the pokemon evolve unless they just don't want to, the energy cycles around again so the pokemon can evolve if it changes it's mind next time. Lucario, Pikachu, me, and Pupitar also talked a lot about whether Pupitar wanted to evolve or not, since I don't like forcing pokemon to evolve. Pupitar was really wanting to evolve though, he wanted legs back." Ash smiled and his friends started laughing. Gary talked to Ash more about evolution. Ash explained as much as he could about evolution and this 'energy' to Gary. Evolution being such a little understood topic in the scientific field, made Gary eager to listen to what Ash had to say. Then Dawn redirected the conversation,

"Hey Ash? What about the move you had Tyranitar use? He beat his tail against the ground to make the Brickbreak not do as much damage... or something?"

Ash smiled, "That's a technique I discovered. It's most effective with pokemon that have high defense."

They tried to ask him how many of his pokemon utilized the technique but his lips were sealed. Misty then asked the next question

"Ash what were you thinking when you approached Tyranitar when he was still Outraged? You could have been really hurt!" Misty seemed to get angrier as the question came out.

Ash frowned and everyone turned to him,

"Sorry Mist, but I promise I knew what I was doing. I've been helping Tyranitar to control himself better when Outraged. He just really needed help calming his anger, not controlling himself. He was more uncomfortable than out of control." Ash said calmly, trying to soothe her. It took Misty of guard. Ash used to would've snapped at her that he knew what he was doing even if he really didn't, and he definitely didn't ever try to calm her. _Did Ash actually mature more within the last year? _Misty pushed the thought aside as she replied,

"It's okay Ash... just warn us next time you plan on doing something like that. I-We, were all real worried about you." Misty really hoped he hadn't noticed her slip up. He seemed not to as he continued,

"Okay, Sorry Mist, guys. I promise I'll warn ya next time." Ash smiled.

The gang then decided to go get lunch and maybe find Cilan, Cress, Chili, and Iris and eat with them. They finally found the eatery and walked in. They looked around until they saw an interesting sight. Chili was watching with amusement obvious on his face. Iris was being held back by Cilan and Cress as she yelled at Georgia. Burgundy was behind her, and to Misty's horror so was Macy. Macy had grown up since the last time Misty had seen her; she wasn't beautiful but she wasn't ugly that's for sure. A knot formed in Misty's stomach even though she tried to fight it, she hated feeling so weak.

"You have no idea how much I've trained! I'll show you Georgia!" Iris yelled

"Hmph still the Iris I remember, angry and weak" Georgia smirked as Burgundy pushed into the conversation.

"Watch your back Cilan! I will defeat you once and for all!" Burgundy hollered. Then both girls noticed Macy freeze and turn around. They noticed and so did Cilan and co. Macy smiled wide while staring at Ash. Ash began to feel sweat trickle down his spine.

"Oh my goodness!" Macy squealed. She ran over to Ash and hugged him tight, "Ash It's been so long! I saw your battle, you were amazing! You've gotten so much stronger since we last saw each other!" Macy's face couldn't hide the large blush. Ash felt uncomfortable, but tried to be nice.

"It's nice to see you again too, Macy. How've your pokemon and you been?" Ash said nicely and smiled causing Macy's face to turn redder.

"They've gotten really strong! I've been good too! I've been competing in a couple other regions like Hoenn and Sinnoh." Macy spoke and nodded finally releasing Ash.

"I saw your battle as well Ash you did an exquisite job." Cilan said, still kinda holding onto to Iris.

"Thanks Cilan, I'll be there at your match, cheering for you." Ash replied

"Meh. I've seen better battles." Georgia said suddenly.

"What do you mean by that Georgia!?" Macy said angrily "Ash is a great trainer! You'll see! He cares for his pokemon so much! He's brave and kind!"

Ash smiled nervously. After his time with his pokemon and definitely after meditating with aura so much, he had found out that though he loved the thrill of battle, pokemon or not, he didn't really enjoy random conflict. At least, he disliked it even more than he used to. He had learned to control his passionate anger somewhat, especially when taunted by others. He spoke trying to defuse the situation,

"Hey let's just calm down okay? Everyone has their right to their own opinions," Ash waved his hands trying to distill the tension in the room "Let's just have a nice lunch together, is that so ba..." Ash didn't finish his sentence. Suddenly his face turned serious and he stared at the ground.

"Ash? Ash are you okay?" Misty said quickly

"What's wrong with him?" Burgundy spoke sharply, suddenly Ash's voice came back.

"Gaah! Really? Now?" Ash turned around and started out the door before Gary spoke,

"Ash? What's the matter?" Ash turned to face the group and spoke,

"Team Rocket." At that moment laughter and screams could be heard from outside and everyone came out to see what was wrong.

Jessie and James along with Meowth were laughing hysterically as people yelled at them. They had used their vacuum and had many pokeballs from other trainers in their basket.

Iris turned to Ash questionably, "How'd you know?" Ash looked at her for a moment before sheepishly saying,

"Maybe cause they've trailed me for so long, I've grown a Rocket sense or something?" He didn't wanna lie, but for now this was best.

Macy was looking on in fright. See turned to see Ash face the Rockets with no hint of fear on his face. She blushed before a feeling of courage surged through her.

"Team Rocket! Don't make me come up there!" Ash yelled, getting their attention. Pikachu agreed quickly, allowing sparks to crackle around him, which seemed to have no effect on Ash.

"Da twerp!" Meowth said looking at him. Their faces went pale. Ash's friends were slightly shocked to see, _that_, kind of reaction from them, but soon they'd find out why. Jessie snapped out of her moment and had a second wind,

"You know what!? I'm tired of this! I'm tired of you stopping us every time! Go! Arbok!" Misty wanted to know when Jessie's Arbok had come back, but she had to worry about that later. Arbok showered the crowd below with a powerful and concentrated looking Poison sting. Everyone started to run except one. Macy froze. She thought she felt braver beside Ash, but that changed once the actual attack came at her.

"Guys! Macy didn't run!" May said suddenly getting the retreating group's attention. Before anyone could say another word, Ash turned back around running towards her faster than when he had run away from the attack.

"What's he doing!?" Georgia yelled

"Ash!" Misty hollered in fright

Ash ran faster picking up speed. Pikachu held on tightly as he felt his master's speed increase with the help of a small amount of aura. Ash grabbed Macy quickly pulling her up in his arms, bridal style, with surprisingly not much effort. He continued to run forward. Getting directly under the balloon barely avoiding the poison sting. He did flinch, when a few struck his right shoulder. He couldn't afford to think about that now though.

"HA! We've got you now! Weezing use smokescreen on them both!" James yelled happily. Smoke covered the two for a moment, then suddenly a Charizard shot from the smoke with Ash riding it.

"I warned you, Team Rocket! I told you not to make me come up here!" Ash yelled as he ascended. Now facing the balloon, Charizard let forth a mighty torrent of flame causing the balloon to explode in the air. It fell to the ground, Jessie, James, and Meowth tumbled out as trainers' pokeballs rolled out over the ground. The other trainers approached with angry glares. Ash got off of Charizard and walked towards them,

"You guys. You can do better then this," Ash started almost appearing sad.

"What? Not enough of a challenge for ya, twerp?!" Jessie retorted.

"That's not what I meant..." Ash replied, getting some looks from the crowd and especially Team Rocket. They then heard a police siren start to approach. People turned their attention away from Team Rocket, except for Ash.

"Dragontail." Charizard's tail glowed blue and smacked Team Rocket causing them to blast off. Everyone turned back to the sound and before they could ask what it was, Officer Jenny walked up to Ash,

"Where's Team Rocket?"

"They were about to attack again so I had Charizard use Dragontail and they flew off somewhere from the force of the attack. Sorry about that Officer." Ash lied through his teeth, even though he knew no one would know he was lying since no one really was paying attention, he hated doing it.

"Well okay then, thanks for helping these trainers get back their pokemon." Jenny walked away and the crowd gathered around the balloon to retrieve their stolen pokemon. Ash's friends walked up to him as well as Macy. Before they could say anything though Macy hugged him tightly,

"You did it again! You... saved me." Macy said mumbling into Ash's now sweaty shirt. Ash again felt uncomfortable and started to sweat more, but now he knew and was afraid that the excursion and Macy's proximity weren't the only reason why he was sweating,

"It wasn't a problem Macy." Ash said calmly as he could, "You're alright right? Guys you too?"

Everyone nodded. They then noticed Pikachu looked a bit uneasy and kept gazing from Ash's friends to Ash. Macy moved away and was about to let others ask Ash questions when suddenly Ash spoke,

"Well that's... goo...d..." Ash wavered a bit. Pikachu's eyes shot open wide and turned to Brock and the others,

"Pikachu! Pika PikaPi!" Pikachu yelled quickly and jumped to the ground before Ash began to lean forwards without restraint. Misty now being closest to Ash, dove to catch him,

"Ash!? Ash!? Are you alright? Are you in there?" Misty then saw it. Two purplish stingers stuck in Ash's right shoulder. They were in quite deep so they weren't too noticeable except up close. They pulsed with a sickening purple glow.

"Brock!" she yelled as the others came closer, "He's... he's been..." She tried to continue but was having trouble as tears started to form in her eyes, "He's been poisoned! Some of Arbok's powerful stingers must have gotten him!" Brock and Gary approached and assessed the situation. The others in the group became worried and May and Dawn started to get teary-eyed as well. Ash's cheeks started to pale and a purple hue soon graced them.

"Okay me, Brock, and you will try to help carry him," Gary started, "Cilan and the others you go and warn Nurse Joy that we're coming." Everyone nodded and rushed off. Pikachu jumped into Misty's arms, as Gary and Brock worked to get Ash up on their shoulders. They then took off towards the stadium.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-A couple hours later-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Everyone was relatively silent in the waiting room. Every now and then, someone started a light conversation. Everyone sat near the doors, surprisingly even Georgia and Burgundy stuck around to see if Ash was going to be okay. Pikachu was in Ash's room laying next to him, after he had been stabilized, but Misty had kind of wished he had stayed for her to hug.

Georgia finally broke the silence, "You have to wonder what he was thinking." She said simply.

"That's just it," Misty said suddenly in response, looking out of a nearby window, "Ash never thinks much, with his mind anyways. His heart is what he follows."

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Brock spoke up, "You know he's going to be okay right, Misty? This is Ash we're talking about. He'll be fine you'll see."

"Yeah! No need to worry!" Dawn said cheerily, trying to erase the worry on her own face.

**None of you need to be very concerned. **Lucario spoke suddenly making everyone jump, they didn't realize he had come out of Ash's room to wait with them. **My Master is strong and will pull through, besides I can feel his energy and it is well within the safety zone for humans. I would tell you if his energy dipped low enough for you to be concerned.**

"Well That's good news. Thanks for telling us Lucario." May said softly.

**You all mean a great deal to my Master. I know he would want me to calm you. Being linked by Aura as we are, I can feel such things as these within him.**

"Linked by Aura? What do you mean by that?" Cilan asked the pokemon. Ash's more informed friends grew quiet. Cilan and his brothers, Iris, Burgundy, Georgia, and Macy looked at them and Lucario curiously.

"Guys? Is there something you aren't telling us?" Iris finally asked.

Misty and the others looked at each other for a long time before turning back to them.

"Well yes... but we can only tell you if you promise to keep it a secret. This is Ash's privacy we're talking about and we never got to ask him how many people he wanted to know about this." Misty said slowly looking at each one of the, now entranced, trainers in front of her. _I'm pretty sure Cilan and his brothers and Iris will be trustworthy, but Macy and these Burgundy and Georgia characters... I'm not so sure._

**Believe what she has said. What information they are about to entrust you with is not to be taken lightly. It is also the reason I can speak with you.**

"I was wondering about that." Cress stated.

Brock then started explaining to them their first trip to the Cameron Palace, The Riolu incident, the legend of Spiritomb, Riley's offer, and finally what Ash had told them he had been practicing the last year or so. The other trainers listened intently, some wearing looks of disbelief. Finally after Brock was done, Iris spoke,

"You know... I always noticed that Ash seemed to sense what pokemon were feeling... I've been training to be a dragon master and though that field comes with more specific training, with having to deal with the innate behavior and personality of dragon types, Ash seemed to have a connection with pokemon that only after years of training comes to other people."

"Okay... so Ash has these powers, or..." Burgundy began slowly.

**Not so much powers as of yet. He still needs much training before he gains more control over those aspects of his abilities. Think of it more as a heightened sense.**

"Wait! Is that how he knew Team Rocket was outside?" Chili blurted, after trying during all of the stories, to keep quiet.

**Yes. He undoubtedly sensed their unique auras, their unsavory intent, and acted thusly to stop them.**

"I still don't see why this is such a big spooky secret. Ash Ketchum, some kid from Kanto has a strong Aura, or whatever, so what?" Georgia said snidely. Before Iris and Misty could lash out, Lucario spoke.

**There's a reason why there aren't as many Aura Guardians as there used to be.**

Suddenly all eyes were on Lucario.

"Yeah... what did happen to all the guardians? I remember Lady Ilene saying there used to be alot!" Max asked Lucario

**According to my elders, who used to help train me when I was still a young Riolu, Most all of them died.**

"How?..." was all Misty could whisper

**They were hunted.**

Everyone was silent for a while until Gary spoke,

"You mean they... They were murdered?" came Gary's question in a hoarse whisper

Lucario sighed, **Yes. The Aura Guardians had power that others desired. At least somewhat. You see though an Aura Master, the highest of Aura Users, has great power, he or she is not necessarily stronger than the next human. Their power can only give them slightly greater strength, speed, endurance, and perception, than normal.**

"Then why would those people do such a thing?" May asked upset

**For two reasons. First, The Guardians' primary power comes from the their connection to nature and the balance that must be kept within it. Pokemon naturally know that those with good auras are there to help if danger has come. Good Aura users have a calming effect on pokemon. People became jealous of this connection Aura guardians had with pokemon. They focused more on what the guardians had and they forgot they could form just as strong a bond with their pokemon.**

"We can?" Macy asked

**Yes. Aura Guardians aren't much different from anyone else, if they are it's very slight. The difference between them is really more an illusion than anything. They are meant to be mentors and examples for others.**

"Like the difference between a Gym Leader and a Trainer? They both can have strong bonds with their pokemon, but Gym Leaders are given a sense of authority because they have had perhaps more experience as well as being given that authority by their peers." Misty spoke. Brock, Cilan, Chili, and Cress nodded in understanding.

**Yes! Exactly!**

"You had a second reason though, right?" Gary added

**Yes. The second reason cannot be given as much leniency. The second reason is just plain greed. People wanted power... and for one reason or another, they thought the Aura Guardians could give it to them. The Guardians tried to explain what I have to you, but they simply thought them liars. If they couldn't have the power they sought, then no one could... So they did just that. They hunted them, found them, men, women, human cubs, all of them they could find, and they killed them, except obviously a few escaped. At least enough for Sir Riley and my Master to have such gifts today.**

Everyone was silent for an even longer time.

"So... That's why, but wait why would it matter? No one's hating on Guardians anymore, heck people might thinks it's cool, Ash could be a celebrity or something" Georgia probed.

**True, but I never explained what happens to one if they use Aura for evil purposes. Such people were once known as Dark ones. Later, their name would change to Aura Hunters. They did most of the killing.**

"But... why would the non-Aura adepts allow such a thing to happen? Didn't they know their Guardians were being killed by evil people?" Cress asked

**The Dark ones did well to hide themselves. Many non-Aura adepts didn't believe they were around anymore. They hid their powers and became leaders and respected people within the communities, but they used that power to unknowingly turn people on the Aura Guardians. Though it must be remembered that all Dark ones are Aura hunters, if they pursue their ancestry, but not all Aura hunters are Dark ones.**

"That's just beyond awful." Dawn said.

**The reason why this information must be somewhat hidden, is that with the unlikely-hood of Aura adepts like Sir Riley and Ashton being alive today and yet having been revealed to be alive, it makes it even more likely that somewhere Aura hunters' descendants still are alive as well, though it would be unknown if they followed or even knew about their ancestors' actions and desires, such a risk can't be taken. There aren't many Aura Guardians left to help the Legends keep the balance of the world in place, thus the work load is increased for every Guardian alive now. No doubt many of you here now realize what this implies. You've noticed that my Master has had to prevent disaster more than one's fair share... This is sadly no coincidence.**

Realization dawned on the faces of many in the group except maybe Macy, Georgia, and Burgundy.

**My Master has a lot on his shoulders, but he is strong enough to take what comes to him. I simply don't want to give him more trouble than he needs. He will undoubtedly have me and the rest of his pokemon there to push through such trials with him, as well as his friends. Things shouldn't be much different than what you all have grown accustomed to, being his good friends, except maybe now knowledge.**

**I am glad though, I must add, that he found all of you. It makes me happy to know he has such good human friends.**

"Someone has to keep that little kid in line!" Iris said cheerfully followed by agreement from Ash's other close friends.

Lucario turned to the three girls Macy, Burgundy, and Georgia, **I know I can trust these others. I sense it in their energy and being, but I wish to hear a confirmation from you as well Lady Macy, Lady Burgundy, Lady Georgia. I cannot threaten you because that would mean dishonoring a vow I made to my Master as well as making him upset with me. So I have no choice but to beg and hope you will keep your word.**

Lucario reached his paw out, waiting for the girls to shake it. They turned to one another and then started shaking the paw.

"I don't know Ash too well, but you've convinced me this is important so I will accept your request." Burgundy spoke

"I don't want Ash in danger. He saved me if this is how I can thank him then absolutely!" Macy said

"I agree with Burgundy, you've convinced me." Georgia replied.

After more talking, the three girls finally said they were going to leave to train for their battles that were later in the week. They told the others to tell Ash to get well soon and to give him their best wishes. Before they left through the door, Georgia turned back around and spoke to Iris,

"You know Iris... maybe you're not so uncool after all. You're really loyal to your friends and you hang out with some pretty cool and interesting people. You think... you think we could be friends?"

Iris said nothing and held her mouth open for several minutes, finally a smile crossed her face,

"I... I think I'd like that Georgia, and thanks."

"Same here Cilan. I... I'm..." Burgundy seemed to be having trouble speaking the next part but finally she got it out, "I'm... sorry, friends?" Burgundy waited and got an answer much quicker than she thought she would,

"I'd like that Burgundy and thanks to you as well." Cilan smiled pleasantly.

"BUT! Don't think we're not still rivals, Iris!" Georgia came back.

"Same here, Cilan" Burgundy agreed.

"But of course!" Iris said with a competitive smile.

"Friendly rivalry is the spice of live!" Cilan said happily.

Finally they all three left. In the next ten minutes, Nurse Joy came into the room.

"He's awake now if you would like to visit him. He'll need to stay the rest of tonight, but tomorrow he should be allowed to be discharged." Nurse Joy said, before being bum rushed by everyone. Brock turned around to try and court Nurse Joy, before feeling a warning pinch on his ear from Max. They ran down the hall to Ash's room with only Brock's voice trailing behind,

"Thanks for everything Nurse Joy!"

Nurse Joy smiled before she noticed Lucario walking slowly after them.

**Thank you for your aid Miss Joy. Your help healing my Master is most appreciated if that already isn't obvious. **Lucario chuckled with friendliness.

"It's my pleasure! It's what I'm here for." Nurse Joy said. Lucario bowed to her and continued his walk down the hall.

Inside the room it was cramped. Ash faced his friends happily while Pikachu nuzzled into his chest cooing from Ash scratching behind his ear.

"I'm glad you're okay Ash." Dawn said happily.

"Thanks Dawn, guys. I'm feeling much better now. I guess I was so focused on getting Team Rocket out of the way I kinda didn't notice the stingers all that much." Ash said sheepishly.

"No kidding! There were two huge stingers in you're shoulder!" Max hollered

They talked more until Misty asked an interesting question, "Hey Ash, when did Jessie and James get their Arbok and Weezing back?"

"Beats me, although they still continued to follow me last year. Maybe they found them while I was in Hoenn. I had to get a little tough on them while I was traveling alone though, since I was well, alone. I think they kinda got mad or offended or something, almost as if I was dissing a friend," Ash replied.

"The nerve! They've been trying to steal your pokemon since the start of your journey and when you decide to get rougher on them, _they_ get offended?!" May asked in frustration for the sake of her friend.

"Yeah. You're telling me. Sometimes I'm not really sure what they're thinking... I've tried to convince them to leave Team Rocket to pursue their own dreams and such, and I've come close a couple times, I think," Ash said.

"Wait you've actually gotten the chance to speak to them?" Iris asked

"Yeah. When they would get hungry, I'd share some food with them and we would talk. It was kinda weird and yet not. I guess I feel sorry for them or something. I feel like if they had things to do over again or we were in a different universe we could be really good friends," Ash answered.

At first there were some words of disapproval, but Ash finally got everyone to see what he was talking about.

"Yeah I suppose I see what you mean. They have helped us out before and visa versa," Brock said, holding his chin in thought.

The group then remembered to tell Ash that they had told some others about his Aura powers and such. Ash smiled and looked at Lucario,

"That's okay. I didn't expect it to stay a secret forever. Lucario told me the same thing about the Aura Hunters and Dark ones. At first I was a little concerned, but I realized that most if not all of them either don't know who they are descended from or they don't care, and really I don't plan to make a big deal out of it either. I imagine Riley is known more for being an Aura Guardian than I am and I don't plan to jump out in front of a group of reporters and tell them I'm a Guardian. I don't really want to use my ability too much if I don't have to, at least I don't plan to." Ash responded and everyone nodded and agreed that that seemed like a good plan.

Eventually the discussion turned to the week's battle schedule.

"According to the schedule here," Gary spoke to everyone, "Tomorrow at eight, Misty has her match. Then Brock later in the Afternoon. Two days after that Iris, Cress, and May have theirs. Then the next day's really busy with Dawn, May, Cilan, Chili, and I have our matches. Finally Max has his on the final day."

"Aw man! I'm last! I hope I don't screw it up at the last minute," Max said worriedly.

"You'll do great Max I'm sure of it!" Brock said and everyone nodded in agreement. Suddenly Ash got upset,

"Wait did you say Misty's match is at eight tomorrow? Please tell me that's in the evening!" Ash said suddenly. Gary looked down at his Poke'tech and frowned,

"Naw, it's in the morning and Brock's is later that afternoon," Gary replied.

"What's wrong Ash?" Misty questioned him. He sighed,

"Nurse Joy said I could leave _after_ 10 tomorrow. I'll miss your match," Ash said sadly.

"It's okay Ash. Misty knows you'll be cheering for her," Brock responded.

"Yeah Ash it's fine," Misty agreed.

"Hmph. I don't see how two hours will make a difference I'll just come anyway," Ash said, letting his stubborn childish behavior come to the surface, an event that recently had gotten more rare. He leaned up only to have Brock place a hand in his shoulder.

"No Ash. You're health is most important. You can watch the match on the TV and when Misty's done you can congratulate her," Brock said trying to calm his friend, who he saw as almost a brother, down. He smiled from seeing his friend's more traditional behavior become visible.

Everyone else agreed and finally Ash relented.

"Fine," Ash said with a pout causing Dawn, May, and Iris to giggle.

"That's good. I couldn't concentrate on the battle if I was afraid of you passing out randomly during the fight," Misty said with a mocking grin, causing Ash to blush slightly then pout again before finally bringing a look of inspiration to his eyes,

"Hey I've got it!" Ash said before reaching under his hospital garment before looking confused and blushing ferociously, "Where... where's my shirt?"

Everyone laughed except Misty who laughed after blushing. She saw Ash's bare chest underneath the flimsy hospital garment.

**Master your articles are over here. I assume you wanted your pendant?**

"Oh hey Lucario. Yeah your right, thanks." Lucario handed the pendant to Ash, before Ash placed it on his lap. He then took his shirt from Lucario and put it on. Luckily he still had his pants on. _I'm glad I got hurt on my shoulder. I would have truly died of embarrassment. _Ash turned to Misty now holding the pendant once more, "Here Mist. Take it with you into your battle. When I'm cheering for you it should glow slightly. Oh! It might feel a little warm too, but don't worry its not going to burn you or anything, that's just how aura feels sometimes."

Misty blinked a few times while looking at and holding the necklace. It was beautiful, she couldn't believe Ash had carved it himself. Finally after a blush and then her fighting it away quickly, she looked at Ash with friendliness and said,

"Thanks Ash. I'll do just that." Misty then put the necklace on.

Dawn and May looked at each other and smiled knowingly. Brock and Gary did the same. The group continued to talk for awhile longer. Finally Brock told everyone it was getting late. Everyone said their goodbyes to Ash, as he returned Lucario and rolled over to hold Pikachu. They returned to their cabins and didn't sleep quite as comfortably as the night before; Ash being back had really made them happy, it just wasn't quite the same without him present. Misty knew she was the last to fall asleep. She held the small pendant in her hand stroking a thumb over its smooth surface.

_I have to win tomorrow. I wonder why Ash gave me this pendant... does this mean more for us than it seems or am I over thinking this? _She thought some about Lucario's talk about Aura Guardians and Dark ones. She knew Ash would never be alone in this, his destiny I suppose you could call it or an occupation? _At least... _she thought softly before sleep finally consumed her, _If worst comes to worst, he'll always have me..._


	5. The Training Park Incident

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

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Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzz-The next day-zzzzzzzzzz

_Welcome one and All! To the Next day of Battles! Our next two contestants are coming up to the field now! In the red corner, She's the gym leader of Cerulean, one of the toughest gyms there is, She's one of the Sensational Sisters! Give it up for Misty Waterfolwerrrrrr!_

Misty walked up with confidence, Ash's pendant resting on her chest. She felt and saw it glow as the crowd cheered loudly.

_And in the green corner, He's buff, he's strong, he's trained under ! From Vermillion City, give it up for, Major Max!_

The man was very buff and laughed when he locked eyes with Misty,

"Ha! A little girl huh? This should be easy! And you're a water pokemon trainer... piece of cake."

Misty was angry and a vein started pulsing on her head. She was about to yell at him, before she felt the orb on her chest pulse gently. Instead she spoke calmly,

"We'll see. Don't count me out yet!"

The referee walked out in between the two trainers,

_Are both trainers ready to battle?_

They both nodded.

_Begin!_

Misty threw the pokeball and watched her friend appear with a happy squeak. Her opponent's pokemon surprised her, by letting out a squeak of it own.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_Misty has chosen Azumarill and Major Max has gone with the choice of Emolga!_

"Yay! He has an Emolga! It's still not as cute as mine though!" Iris said with a smile.

"Hey whose side are you on, Iris?" Dawn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Misty's of course! I just like the choice of the opponent's pokemon. Is that a crime?" Iris replied hastily.

"Hmm. I think Major Max is surprised by Misty's choice. He probably thought she would use her Gyarados or something like that so she could use Earthquake to fight off his electric pokemon. He was most likely planning to over whelm Gyarados and Misty with speed as well as being able to avoid earthquakes being that Emolga is part flying type," Gary interrupted, bringing everyone back to the actual battle at hand.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Hmph. Honestly not expecting that," Major Max said, "Doesn't matter though, I'm still gunna wipe the floor with ya! Ha ha ha!"

"Azumarill! Water gun!" Misty said ignoring the banter. Azumarill shot the stream of water from her mouth. Emolga got hit directly and stumbled in air.

"Hey!" Major Max shouted.

"You need to start battling and stop running that mouth of yours!" Misty replied, with her hands in her hips, before calling out another command, "Rollout!" Azumarill curled up and started rolling fast.

Major Max suddenly smiled, "UP, Emolga!" Emolga rose and the Rollout attack missed, "Now Shockwave!" Emolga shot out a wave of electricity, hitting Azumarill and causing it to cry in pain.

"No!" Misty shouted at her pokemon. Azumarill was like a child to her. She had had to say goodbye to one, so now she was very protective of Azumarill. Azumarill turned and smiled at her, giving her confidence to battle once more, "Use water pulse!"

Azumarill pulsed the water toward its opponent.

"Emolga, Irontail, then follow up with Electroball at the same time!"

Emolga charged the Irontail and broke up the water that was coming its way. With another spin, it fired a Electroball, that charged up remarkably fast, before slamming into Azumarill.

_Major Max has seemed to have gotten the upper hand on the Gym Leader, can Misty turn this battle around or will she be out of the Master Challenge for good?!_

Misty was afraid. She froze in fear. She feared that she'd let Ash and everyone down. She only thawed out because she suddenly felt warmth on her chest.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"This is bad, Misty's having trouble. Rollout would really damage Emolga if it would stop flying. Major Max keeps having Emolga dodge and attack well. He's using a modified form of his original strategy," Brock said.

"What's that?" May asked worry in her eyes.

"He's trying to wear Azumarill down. He knows he can't win with raw power, Misty would cream him. So he's being evasive and sadly it seems to be doing the trick," Gary responded. All eyes turned back to the battle.

zzzzzzzzzzz-In pokemon center-zzzzzzzzzz

Ash stared at the screen. He saw Misty freeze. She only did this when she felt she was going to let someone down. He could sympathize. _I... I can feel your anxiety Misty... I know you can do this. You're the greatest water trainer I've ever met! You can handle any ol' electric or grass type! You were the one who truthfully taught me type advantage wasn't everything. Come on Misty snap out of it!_

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

Misty felt the warmth on her chest and suddenly strength returned to her posture and determination came to her face. _What the heck am I doing? I'm Misty! The Gym Leader of Cerulean City! This guy's going down... Thanks Ash._

"Emolga use Thunderbolt!" Major Max yelled, thinking Misty was still frozen in fear. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"Dodge and follow up quick with Icebeam!" Azumarill dodged and shot the icy beam at the electric flying squirrel pokemon, causing it to squeak in surprise and pain, ultimately bringing it crashing to the ground with ice covering one of its wings. "Rollout!" Misty said without hesitation. Azumarill obeyed, rolling fast towards the downed pokemon. This all happened so fast Major Max never got to utter another word before it was too late. Emolga crashed to the ground, a ways away from where Azumarill had stopped rolling, with swirls in its eyes.

_Emolga is unable to battle, Misty will continue in the Master Challenge!_

People cheered, as the trainers returned their pokemon and shook hands in the middle of the field. Major Max leaned close to Misty and whispered, "You were right, I'm sorry for the things I said. I should've listened to Lt. Surge when he told me not to underestimate you. Your... really pretty too. Talent and good-looks, you think you might wanna get lunch later?" Max asked cautiously.

Misty took in a sharp breath.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-In the pokemon center-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash felt something odd... It made his stomach clinch. Not only did he get mad when Max leaned closer the whisper something to Misty, but he felt from Misty something flutter in her chest. He was only able to feel it because Misty was wearing his pendant, normally he wouldn't have known. _Why am I angry? I'm not jealous... am I? Misty can make her own choices... Why do I care so much anyway?_ Ash tried to shake the thoughts from his head _Maybe... maybe I'm just hungry. _Ash thought, though with not as much confidence in his answer as he used to be. He had changed while he was gone... Not much, enough to understand what liking someone meant, just not enough to know the signs, and although he tried and somewhat succeeded in convincing himself that he was just hungry, he knew in his heart he wasn't...

Then his heart stopped for a moment at what he saw on the TV screen.

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Misty smiled a little a placed a hand around the pendant and spoke to Max in a whisper so only he could hear, "I'm sorry... That's really sweet of you and I appreciate it, but my heart... I think it already belongs to another."

Max nodded his head in understanding. He thought he saw a bright glow come from behind Misty's clinched hand, but shook his head thinking he was just seeing things.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Misty joined up soon with the others and walked to the pokemon center to pick up Ash. As they walked in, Ash was packing the last few things in his backpack. They didn't know Ash was blushing madly and smiling like a crazy person. He didn't hear what Misty had said to Major Max, but he had seen her grab his pendant and then had seen a tinge of sadness in Max's face. He worked hard and finally composed himself, before turning to face his friends.

"Great job on your battle Mist! I knew you could do it," Ash smiled nicely.

"Thanks Ash, Here's your pendant back," Misty replied, placing the necklace over Ash's head herself. They didn't realize how close they were to each other until their eyes locked. Both blushing, they backed away.

"Thanks Mist. This thing helps me concentrate my Aura. Lucario said that every guardian used to bring crystals with them if they traveled far from their homeland's tree," Ash smiled.

"Wait, homeland's tree? Does that mean there is more than one Tree of beginning?" May asked.

"Yeah, or at least their used to be. Neither Lucario or I know what happened to them though. Even Rota doesn't know," Ash replied with a frown.

The group walked out of the Pokemon center, thanking Nurse Joy as they left. The group decided to go to the training grounds to see others training and to get some training in themselves. Brock decided to have a couple practice battles between Cilan and Cress. He needed to work on his type speciality's main weaknesses. Chili was refereeing. Gary had gone to the cabin to phone his gramps; Professor Oak was planning to visit near the end of the week. May, Dawn, Max, Iris, Misty, and Ash sat nearby watching and talking. Ash stretched and yawned at the same time,

"It feels good to be out of that hospital bed. It was so cramped!" Ash said.

"I remember when I was little I had to get my tonsils removed. I can sympathize." Dawn said nodding.

"Hey Ash, How many other new pokemon do you have?" Max asked.

Everyone at the table turned to face Ash. He raised an eyebrow, "Who said I'm gonna say?" Ash said.

The girls all looked at one another and then at Misty. Her smile curled up wickedly as she motioned the girls over. Ash started to sweat and stole a quick glance at Max who shrugged. Ash stared daggers at the boy, which made Max sheepishly wave back. Before Ash could even ask what they were talking about, the girls jumped him and he gave out a holler,

"Hey guys what are you... ACk!"

The guys stopped their battle and Gary strolled up in time to see an interesting scene. May held Ash's right arm, Dawn his left, Iris sat on his legs, and finally Misty on his chest. Misty was tickling him, viciously. People in the area turned, wondering who was dying.

"HA! HA HA HA! MISTY! MISTYYYY! HA HA ! HUFF! HA! PLEASE! STOOOOPPP! HAA HA!" Ash yelled through coughing, laughing, and tears.

"Geez, Ash I never knew you were so ticklish." Dawn said.

May giggled.

"Yeah, talk about little kid stuff." Iris toyed.

The guys sweat dropped and shrugged at each other. Pikachu sweat dropped as well from it's safe perch on the table.

"You can only survive... If you tell us what we want to know!" Misty said continuing to tickle him.

"HA HA! NEv HA! NEVER! HA HA HA HA! HA!" Ash continued to laugh. He felt his insides start to scream for relief.

After another minute of tickling, Ash finally started to crack, "OK! OK! HA HA HA! OK! I GIVE HA HA HA!" Ash howled once more in laughter, as Misty started relaxing on her tickling. She waited until he stopped snickering and his breathing started evening out.

Iris, unbeknownst to Misty, had relaxed her grip as well and leaned back. She lost her balance and fell backwards from her sitting position, right into Misty's back. With a yelp, Misty fell forward and because of the position of her hands, couldn't catch herself. Everyone in Ash's group watched in wonder, their eyes wide. Dawn and May looked at each other, Max's glasses slipped low on his nose without him noticing, Gary and Brock exchanged glances, Chili put his arms over his two brothers, who were gaping, grinning like a cheshire cat, Iris's hands shot up to her mouth, and Pikachu was smiling...

Misty laid on top of Ash, arms splayed out, eyes closed, she felt something warm touching her lips. After a moment after her fall, she opened her eyes and saw wide brown eyes staring back. They were kissing, or well they had fallen into a kiss, you could say. Misty jerked up with a red face and a small noise. Ash didn't sit up at first. He just laid there for a moment staring straight up where Misty's eyes once were. A furious red blush racing across his cheeks. Finally he sat up. He didn't even take the chance to look at the others in the group at first, his eyes were on Misty only. He looked into her eyes for what seemed like forever, but in reality he knew was only maybe thirty seconds. He finally looked away. His eyes met everyone else's. There was awkward silence. Finally Iris broke the deathly calm,

"I'm soooo sorry Misty. I fell backwards," Iris said.

"It's okay," Misty began, "Ash?"

Ash turned and looked at her sideways. She could see something in his eyes. She had seen fear, sadness, joy, anger, and almost every other emotion in her friends eyes before, but this look was different. She saw anxiety.

"Yeah Misty?" He said, obviously trying to withdraw his blush and compose himself.

"It was an accident. We are all mature people here, right?" Before Ash could agree and the group could pretend like that never happened, laughter split the air.

"HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA!" Gary was laughing uncontrollably, "I'M... I"M SO... SORRY! IT"S JUST... YOUR FACE! OH ASHY-BOY! HA HA HA!"

"Scratch the part about us all being mature..." May murmured loudly and Dawn rolled her eyes.

Ash's blush he had almost tamed, returned with a fury. Ash reverted to 10 years old in a moment once he heard Gary's familiar mocking laughter, "Shut-up Gary! You heard her! It was an accident!" Ash shouted and whined together.

Gary finally calmed down, but all he could say was, "I'm sorry... so sorry... Ash... I don't... I don't know what came over me... maybe nervous tension or something."

Ash took a deep breath and then slowly he calmed down. Misty reiterated her point from before Gary's outburst and then everyone slowly started to "forget" what was now and forever to be "remembered" as the _training park incident_. They also forgot completely to ask what Ash's new pokemon were. Brock realized his match was up so they ran back to the stadium to watch.

Brock battled against a trainer from Cherrygrove named John. Brock used his Steelix against the opponent's Scizor. At first it seemed as though Scizor's speed was going to give John the advantage but in the end, Steelix's power and a well aimed Rockslide ended John's continuance in the Master challenge.

The week went on and each of Ash's friends were successful in their battles.

May battled well with her Blaziken against a tough trainer from Hoenn with a Swampert. She won by over-whelming and confusing the trainer with her contest flare.

Dawn battled her Quilava against a Unovan trainer that used an Audino. They didn't stand a chance against Dawn's attack swallowing technique.

Iris battled a trainer with a Flygon. Haxorus did an awesome job and it was really an explosive dragon battle. Iris told Ash that he wasn't the only one who had been training when he asked her when Axew had evolved.

Gary creamed a trainer from Sinnoh. Gary's Blastiose froze the trainer's Leafeon with a Icebeam.

Cilan had a good time battling a Kanto trainer. The Kanto trainer used a Himonlee and Cilan's Stunfisk stunned it into submission since most of Himonlee's kicks seemed to have trouble connecting...

Cress had some trouble with a trainer that had a Pikachu go against his Panpour, but ultimately pulled through. Everyone thought it was great how good Cress was at dealing with electric types, being a water type trainer.

Chili scared everyone at first, but his Pansear stood its ground until the opposing Raticate collapsed first.

The rest of the week went on without much event. There was one funny incident at the ice cream shop were Gary's face got covered in frozen yogurt when Brock unexpectantly slapped Gary on the back in jest. Ash, needless to say, savored the moment and discovered revenge truly is a dish or _cone _best served cold. Finally the last day of battles came and Max was the last of the group that needed to win. To say he was nervous was a severe understatement.

"What if my opponent has a legendary? What if my pokemon keep missing? What if I freeze? What if I loose!?" Max yelled finally.

"Max... Max. Calm down. You'll do fine. I'm sure of it," Ash said reassuringly for the fiftieth time that afternoon.

"Listen to Ash, Max, you will be great," May said with a smile.

Everyone gave him encouragement, as they entered the stadium's tunnels. Suddenly a new voice entered the throng of their conversation, "Well, well. Look who it is. Max Maple. Why are you here?" A young man appeared before them. His hair was short and crazy. Orange hair with hazel eyes. He looked from each person in Ash's group, finally landing on Max.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? I'm here to compete!" Max said angrily.

"Hmph. Don't get your hopes up about getting very far," The trainer said.

"Hey Max, who is this?" Ash leaned down over Max's shoulder.

"My name's Nate, nitwit," Nate spoke harshly looking at Ash, "and I suppose I'm Max's rival."

"Hey don't call Ash a nitwit! He's way better of a trainer than you will ever be!" Max flared.

"Hmph... Wait are you the trainer with that Tyranitar?" Nate asked suddenly.

"Yeah why?" Ash asked.

"..." Nate stared for a moment, "I want to battle you."

The group stiffened with surprise and Max stared at his rival.

"You seem to be someone he looks up to..." Nate paused.

"Ash."

"Ash. If I beat you then maybe Max will stop thinking that he can beat me," Nate said coldly.

Everyone in the group looked at each other.

"Okay you've got yourself a deal," Ash said with a smile and Pikachu nodded.

"WHAT!?" Everyone said.

"Of course you have to wait until after Max's battle, but then I'm all yours," Ash nodded.

"Ash, what are you doing!?" Max looked at him pleadingly.

"Max, you're like a little brother that I never had and your sister is like a sister to me. I feel the need to help you out with this, plus you may find out one of my new pokemon," Ash said and winked at his group before turning around to head out, "Good luck in your battle Max. I'll be cheering for ya! See you after the battle, Nate."

The others patted Max on the back and encouraged him as Nate walked off. The battle was about to begin.

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_Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the last day of Elimination battles!_

Max and his opponent took their places.

_In the green corner, He's the son of a gym leader, He placed in the top eight in the Hoenn League and top sixteen in the Sinnoh League, give some applause for, Maxxxxxx Maplllllllle!_

Max waved nervously and messed with his collar anxiously.

_And in the red corner, he's a tamer, a no nonsense kinda guy, give some applause for Tamer Brad!_

Brad whipped his whip out above his head. The noise from the whip made Max cringe.

_Are the two contestants ready?_

They nodded. The referee then took command.

_Begin!_

Max knew he only wanted to fight this battle with one pokemon specifically. "Grovyle!" The pokemon cried before settling into battle stance.

"Go Tauros!" Brad yelled then snapped his whip a couple times.

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"Oh cool so Max got a Treecko as his starter! I never got to ask what his pokemon were," Ash said excitedly.

"Yeah they're real close, Grovyle and him," May said with a smile.

"Max just needs to be careful of that Tauros," Gary said looking forward.

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"It's really strong from the looks of it," Gary said. Everyone then noticed Ash staring at the field. Everyone in the group let out a small, quiet gasp of awe as the middle of Ash's pupils started to glow blue from deep within. Pikachu looked up at Ash in concentration,

"Pikachu... Pika chu Pi?" Pikachu asked.

The glow in Ash's eyes started to disappear and then he answered, "Yeah Gary's right, Pikachu. That Tauros doesn't just look strong... It is strong."

"So... That's what that was... you used your Aura to sense its strength?" Iris asked.

"Well it's not pinpoint accurate yet, but I get the jest of its strength," Ash nodded.

Everyone then turned to the battle when they heard the announcer's voice.

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_And that powerful Headbutt sends Grovyle flying!_

Max flinched as Grovyle finally hit the ground and with some difficulty got back up. He was having trouble, this Tauros was really powerful and Grovyle's attacks didn't seem to be doing anything. This was it... he was going to lose... Unless... Maybe his studies of pokedex entries would come in handy...

"Grovyle! Use Quick attack!" Grovyle obeyed and darted from one place to another, white light trailing behind him, before coming up on Tauros, "Grab its tail and hold on tight!"

Brad was confused and angry, when his Tauros started running out of control around the battlefield. It was enraged by the pokemon holding its many tails and wouldn't listen now too much to what he had to say.

"Grovyle hold on and start using some Leaf Blades," Max said, starting to feel like he was back in control of the situation from using Tauros' secret weakness. Grovyle's leaves on its arms turned green and rigid and it began to attack fiercely.

Tauros roared as the leaf blades made contact over and over again. Something in him snapped, he had reached his anger point...

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"Oh no..." Ash said suddenly.

"What's wrong Ash?' May asked.

"That Tauros's power just doubled after that last attack. I think it's ability Anger point just activated," Ash said slowly with a serious expression on his face, as he continued to look at the battlefield.

"You mean you felt it's ability activate with your aura?" Gary said, gazing at his rival and friend with a researcher's natural curiosity coming over him.

"Yeah... things are about to get bumpy for Max..." Ash said.

"You can do it Max..." May said in almost a whisper.

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Tauros' hooves pounded down on Grovyle over and over again. Grovyle had been kicked by Tauros's Double kick and then Stomped repetitively. Max looked on in horror. "Too bad kid. You almost had me there," Brad smirked.

_And that folks is the power of Tauros's ability Anger point! Is this the end of the road for young Max Maple?_

Brad finally cracked his whip in a circular motion and Tauros's rampage finally stopped. It trotted back over to Brad's side waiting for the referee to call him the winner.

_It seems as though Grovyle is unable to... huh?_

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"I was wondering if he was wanting to do that," Ash smiled.

"Do what?" Misty asked and everyone glanced at him.

Ash smiled even wider, "Grovyle wants to evolve."

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Grovyle stood up slowly and started to glow. A green aura seemed to join him, as his body changed shape. Before he fully finished evolving, a beam of energy shot from Sceptile's mouth. The beam slammed into Tauros, knocking it down and creating a dust cloud. The stadium was silent. Slowly the dust settled and Tauros lay with swirls in it eyes.

_Tauros is unable to battle! What an upset, folks! Sceptile and Max Maple are our winners!_

Max's eyes watered, as his newly evolved pokemon started making it's way over to him. He stood in front of him and then Max spoke, "Did... did you evolve to help me win the battle?" Sceptile nodded and playfully punched Max in the chest. Max then grabbed him in a brief hug and spoke into the taller pokemon's chest, "Thanks so much. You did so great Sceptile. I'm so proud of you."

Max eventually recalled Sceptile and shook hands with Brad in the middle before returning to the tunnels, excited to see his friends.

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They walked for a while talking about Max's pokemon evolving and the battle in general.

"Your Sceptile must have been able to launch that Solarbeam since it was building up energy to evolve and then the attack was empowered by Sceptile's ability Overgrow," Brock said, "What an exciting finish Max, you raised your Grovyle well."

"Luck. That's all that won you that battle,"

Everyone turned to see Nate standing in front of them.

"You. Are we going to battle now or do you wanna back out?" Nate asked pointing at Ash.

"Of course I'll battle you! I never run away from a battle. By the way, Max has skill so don't say otherwise," Ash smiled and Max smiled over at Ash.

"Pika pika chu!" Pikachu mimicked his Trainer happily.

They got to the battle field, Brock decided to referee,

"Are both trainers ready to battle?"

Nate and Ash nodded.

"This will be a one on one battle, the first pokemon to faints loses."

A pause.

"Begin!"

"Go Vibrava!" Nate said.

"Go Jolteon!" Ash said with a smile. The electric dog came out his ball with a bark. Electricity coursed across his body briefly before he stopped and began closely watching his opponent.

"Woah! Ash where'd you get a Jolteon!?" Max said with excitement.

"Don't worry Max I'll tell you guys later," Ash replied.

"Earth power, Vibrava!" Nate yelled, obviously trying to score a free hit when Ash was distracted.

"Magnet Rise!" Ash said before he fully got to face the field.

Jolteon sparked a bit and lifted into the air just a foot or so.

"Hey what's up with you?! He wasn't even facing the field!" May said angrily.

"Yeah Ash wasn't ready yet!" Iris added.

"Hmph. We're here to battle not chat." Nate said in response.

"Why you!" Iris started.

"He's right Iris. It's okay, we are here to battle, and a battle he's going to get!" Ash turned his hat around and grinned. Seeing him do this again, Misty couldn't help but smile.

"Earth power again and again Vibrava! Make him use Magnet Rise till Jolteon tires out or gets hit by your attack!" Nate yelled.

The ground started to ripple underneath from the multi-attack. Ash never missed a beat,

"Jolteon use Magnet Rise, Agility combo!" Ash said with a smile.

Jolteon rose from the ground again, avoiding the earth power before it struck him. He then started running around a foot above the ground. Nate's face suddenly changed from showing confidence, to awe and a little fear.

"Jolteon Hidden power!" Ash commanded.

Bluish-purple energy spheres shot from almost thin air now that Jolteon, already a fast pokemon, was going even faster due to Agility. The attacks struck Vibrava causing it to cry out in pain.

"Vibrava! Use Rock Tomb! Try and slow it down!" Nate yelled trying to regain control.

Vibrava shot out its attacks and finally scored a hit with the last rock. Jolteon tumbled from it's foot tall perch.

"Vibrava! Use Earthquake!" Vibrava roared and slammed the ground with it's tail. The shockwave traveled towards Jolteon who had stood back up almost immediately after the rock tomb struck, waiting for it's trainer's command.

"Jolteon, Toxic!" Ash commanded.

Jolteon spat the purplish goo at the Virbrava, striking it. Jolteon flinched as the Earthquake finally racked it's frame. After it subsided, Jolteon shook it's head and refocused itself on it's opponent.

"You okay, Jolteon?" Ash asked before continuing.

"Jolteon!" the pokemon said happily nodding.

"Okay, Use Hidden Power, GigaImpact combo!" Ash called out.

Jolteon started picking up speed. It formed a Hidden Power sphere before swallowing it. Jolteon continued as it started to form the Aura of a GigaImpact. As Jolteon came close to Vibrava, it's GigaImpact started glowing bluish and eerily resembled more of a Dragon rush, then a GigaImpact.

"Vibrava..., huh?" Vibrava flinched unable to move, as Toxic did it's job. There wasn't a second chance to call out a move or dodge, before Jolteon made contact with Vibrava.

The dust settled and Jolteon stood looking down at the fainted Vibrava.

"Vibrava is unable to battle! Jolteon is the winner!" Brock declared.

"Great job, Jolteon! You're getting better and better at those techniques!" Ash said, as the Electric dog rushed to him. It tackled him and started licking his face profusely.

"Hey, come on! Stop it Jolteon! My face it getting all wet!" Ash yelled with a smile.

Nate had, by then, approached him after returning his downed pokemon, "Thanks for the battle." Nate said simply, refusing to look into Ash's eyes.

"Hey, Thank you too! I had a great time and you did a great job! Your Vibrava is really powerful!" Ash said as he escaped Jolteon and returned him. Ash stuck out his hand to shake, "I'd love to battle you again sometime."

"Why?" Nate said dejectedly, "I lost, you're a better trainer. You hardly even had to try against me."

Ash looked at him confused before smiling, "Well, we will be different by the time we battle each other again. You'll be stronger and maybe so will I. There are too many possibilities for you to think that battling someone again is a waste of time. Also I'm not a better trainer just because I beat you once, if I had kept that attitude, then I would've never beaten Gary."

"HEY!" Gary shouted before being smacked by Misty in the back of the head.

"..." Nate finally locked eyes with Ash who was still smiling, "Okay. Next time, I'll beat you."

They shook hands, "That's the spirit! Don't underestimate your opponent, Never give up, and most importantly grow strong bonds with you pokemon. Those are the most important things to remember," Ash said as they both turned to the group.

"Hey Max. I just wanna say I'm sorry... I still want to battle you sometime in the Master Challenge, so you better win enough to battle me! You got it!?" Nate said with a small, almost invisible, smile trying to form on his face.

"You bet and Thanks!" Max said, shaking hands with his now friendly rival.

Nate waved goodbye and walked off.

"That was some battle Ash!" Max said.

"I was wondering, was the GigaImpact at the end of the battle supposed to look like a Dragon rush?" Iris said getting looks from everyone but Ash.

"Yep! That's right Iris. Jolteon has the dragon type Hidden power. He swallows the Hidden power to give his body the dragon element for a bit, then using GigaImpact right afterwards allows that energy to flow out of his body and into the attack. It's basically an improvised Dragon rush, like you said," Ash nodded.

Gary shook his head, "You use Agility's speed increase to prevent Magnet rise from losing momentum, so it can be prolonged and you can land a few Hidden powers, then you let Jolteon take an Earthquake so you can get off a Toxic, the Toxic then makes Vibrava flinch from the poison, and finally you take advantage of that to get off your improvised Dragon rush," Gary continued to shake his head, "Not too bad."

"That is an impressive strategy Ash," Brock said.

"Geez guys thanks, but Jolteon was the real star for pulling it off perfectly," Ash said grinning, "Also what'd you think I was doing for a year by myself, eh?" Ash added raising his eyebrow.

"Getting Lost," Misty said mischievously, "After all that's what we did half the time while we were traveling with you."

Everyone but Ash laughed at this while he sulked. Finally they headed back to the cabin for the night. Excitement for tomorrow's ceremony kept them up late wondering what the secondary challenge was for those remaining. They also kept wondering if they'd get a chance to see if Ash could tell what was in the egg. Eventually they forced themselves to sleep.

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**Thanks for reading! :) Review, Favorite, and Follow!**

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**EDIT:**

I'm considering putting OC's in the story at certain points in my story.

For now I'm just opening two other slots, since I'm not sure how this will work out ultimately, but I will try my hardest:

Okay first off the OC will appear in a battle, small adventure, or side mention. I will ultimately decide if they show up in one, two, or all three of these instances. I think it will depend on how many people respond.

If you want to tell me your OC idea, vote on my poll and PM me with this filled out form:

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Home Region:

Pokemon team:

Interesting fact about:

Short(Please not some long novel or anything) Description:

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SLOT 1: Aegis Dragon

SLOT 2: Hitoriga127

SLOT 3: Okutai

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	6. Dad

**Thanks so much for those who voted on the poll. It's thanks to you that the chapter could be posted.**

**Enjoy!**

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

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Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

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Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

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Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the story continue...

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"Do you think he sees us?"

"Nah. His back is facing us."

Georgia and Burgundy sat behind a couple bushes, watching Ash practice Aura. They had woken up early that morning to the sound of muffled explosions outside their cabin. Soon they were entranced by Ash's training.

**Concentrate. Focus on the energy flowing from your body and into your hands.**

Lucario was speaking slowly next to Ash.

"So training again, Ash?" May asked as the rest of Ash's friends showed up.

**Yes Lady May, forgive my Master. He cannot speak while concentrating on the Aura.**

Suddenly loud noises could be heard from the underbrush.

"Come on! This way I know I heard it over here!" One voice shouted.

"I have no idea why I'm following an idiot like you through the woods," Another said.

"Hey, Barry's not an idiot! Be nice Paul!" A third shouted.

"Yeah, I'm not an idiot! Ima have to fine you for that!" Barry shouted.

"Couldn't you all just shut up?" A fourth spoke.

Finally the group of people came into the clearing. Paul, Barry, Zoey, Kenny, Bianca, Stephan, Cameron, Nando, Solidad, Drew, Harley, and Trip. They all looked about the same from before, though Bianca didn't wear her hat anymore and Cameron's hair was now more tamed and not as spiky or held by a band. They stood staring at Ash crouching with an Aura sphere forming and growing in his hands.

"Lu! Lu lu cario!" Cameron's Lucario said staring in awe at Ash and his Lucario.

"Um hey everyone," Dawn said waving nervously.

"Whoa what the heck is Ash doing!?" Cameron said.

**He is practicing concentration of energy, which will help him form Aura spheres more quickly in the future. And in answer to your question my Lucario brother, yes I am an Aura Guardian apprentice and I am most gracious for your praise. Ash can't answer any questions right now. It is already hard enough to focus, but focusing with a bunch of people around with various emotions is even harder.**

"Hmmm. Ash has a Lucario that can talk, huh?" Trip asked before pulling out his camera.

Lucario leapt at him and snatched the device out of his hand.

"Hey give that back!" Trip yelled.

**Forgive me, but you aren't allowed to document the sacred art of Aura with your device. I can return it to you but you mustn't use it.**

Trip nodded finally and Lucario handed it back.

"So are we going to get an explanation to what's going on here or not?" Paul asked, scowling slightly.

**I can provide one, first though, Master? I think we must stop your concentration exercises for today, but you still need to meditate before you finish for this week to stabilize your energy flow. How about you go to the river nearby to meditate in relative silence?**

Ash nodded as he slowly dispersed the Aura sphere. He was sweating hard and nodded once more before walking off towards the river.

**Also, Lady Georgia, Lady Burgundy, I know and Ash knew you were hiding there. You might as well come out of those bushes, it can't be comfortable.**

Clumsily the two girls came out. Nervously, they waved.

"So Ash knew huh?" Georgia asked.

"Told you so!" Burgundy said to Georgia.

"What where you two doing spying on him?" Misty asked. Both Misty and Gary's eyebrows, raised.

"We weren't spying! We heard an explosion so we came over here to see what it was," Georgia said folding her arms.

"Yeah, same here," Zoey added and motioned to the newest group.

** I see. Please forgive me and my Master, we thought the forest would muffle our practice. I see now that as our techniques have become more advanced, their tendency to wake others up has increased as well. We will find a new place to train soon. Now, I imagine you want an explanation.**

It took about an hour to explain to the new comers everything about Ash's Aura that had already been discussed. Everyone, even Paul, Trip, and Harley, surprisingly agreed to keep their new knowledge secret.

"Hmmm. Such a sad and romantic story. It fills my heart with sorrow. So is our friend, Ash, truly is one of the last of his kind?" Nando said with a frown.

**Yes Sir Riley and Master Ashton are the only two that I have heard of that are of the pure aura strain.**

"Pure Aura?" Zoey asked.

**Yes. As I explained before, there are those who are known as Dark ones. Pure Aura is just another way of saying that Ash and Riley use their gifts for the benefit of the world and others.**

"Hey, Ash." Misty said, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey everyone... So Lucario did you explain everything?" Ash asked.

**Yes Master, they have been enlightened.**

"Well that's good," Ash said rubbing the back of his head.

**Speaking of enlightenment Master, are you ready to discuss with me your meditation? It is something that your peers can enjoy as well.**

Ash nodded and sat down cross-legged across from Lucario, who was doing the same.

Most of the others followed suit. Eventually everyone joined them on the ground.

"Why on the ground, hun? It's kinda dirty," Harley whined.

"Be quiet, Harley! Show some respect," May snapped.

**Hush. The earth is the connection to all living things. It helps one find connection with the aura of all things, the people sitting, the pokemon in this forest, the very trees and grass that shelter us. This is why we must sit and get... dirty as you say. Now Ashton... close your eyes and re-experience your meditation state for me.**

Ash closed his eyes and everyone else looked between Ash and Lucario as Ash began to speak,

"One mile south, three Poliwag swimming in the tributary's main lake. Twenty paces into the thick part of the forest, a flock of Pidgey took flight. 200 yards deeper than that two Nidoran played chase. Finally I finished like you always say to and focused until I felt the energy move through the forest and felt the forest breathe...Wait. Two people are coming and have crossed the river, they aren't friends," Ash said suddenly, jumping up and spinning around, as the others rose with him. Some of the group stared in shock, as sure enough, two Team Rocket grunts appeared.

"There you are Ketchum. Been looking for ya. We heard you got Jeremy thrown in the slammer! You're going to regret that. You're coming with us... we're gonna let you have a nice long talk with our boss," The first grunt said.

"Yeah. Maybe we could give his Sharpedoes a little snack," The second grunt added.

"As if we'd let that happen," Gary said, grabbing a pokeball.

**I will not allow you near my Master.**

Ash stood smiling in gratitude as more of the group and eventually the whole group had pulled out at least one pokeball. Ash reached for one more pokeball as well, until...

_Crack!_

The first grunt held out a gun pointed skyward, "Now I suggest you put your pokemon away Ketchum... Unless you want me to fire willy-nilly into your little posse here, you'll come quietly."

Everyone started to lower their hands to their sides and each started to turn towards Ash. Almost without hesitation, Ash retracted and _teleported_ his ball away.

"Fine. Just leave them out of this. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Ash spoke calmly, without changing the calm and serious look on his face.

"What!?" Misty said.

"Ash, you can't just go with them!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, it's Team Rocket. What if... what if they..." Max began and had trouble finishing, since shock had taken over.

"We can't let you go with them Ash," Brock turned to him with a serious and concerned look on his face.

_Crack!_

"Shuddup! All of you! You're trying my patience Ketchum!" The grunt yelled out.

"Guys, just stop. It's okay," Ash said before walking forward.

"PikaPi," Pikachu mumbled.

**Master, you can't. **Lucario growled. If there were fewer people there he would've tried to make a shield, but as it was, he wasn't strong enough to protect this many people... even with his Master's help.

The second grunt approached Ash and swiftly kneed him in the stomach.

"HU-ff," Ash grunted as the air escaped his lungs.

"Heh heh. Not so fun when the roles are reversed, eh boy?" The second grunt spoke mockingly as he grabbed Ash's hands and pulled them harshly behind his back before beginning to tie them up with some rope.

"Cowards." Drew hissed after the grunt had kneed Ash.

Everyone either had a vicious look or one of worry as the grunt worked to secure Ash, even Paul seemed to be scowling more than normal. The grunt then did something that horrified everyone.

"Onix! Use Bind!" The grunt said as he released the pokemon. The Onix made it way over to Ash and wrapped his massive body around him tightly.

"Hmph, I suppose we could have some fun with him, eh? I mean this mission is something _we_ decided to do anyway," The grunt with the gun said.

"Grr...huff...gr..rrrrr" Ash tried to breath but with every breath, the Onix tightened more and more.

"Ha ha ha! Look at em squirm, like the maggot he is!" The second grunt snorted.

"Stop it, please!" Misty said with tears starting to cloud her eyes. The reality of what could happen made her suddenly panic.

"Like your friend said, As if." The grunt with gun said, as a twisted smile grew on his face.

"Murderers," Solidad growled.

"Why thank you. That's the best compliment I've gotten in years!" The second grunt smiled and laughed with his partner.

"What do you think your doing?!" Kenny yelled.

"Let him go!" Zoey growled.

Paul looked at Ash as he struggled and felt confusion within him, _Why would he do that for us? Why suffer for someone else?_

Meanwhile, none of them knew that Ash had started to use his Aura to create a tiny barrier between him and Onix so he could breathe easier. _Now if I can just focus enough..._ Ash felt his crystal warm under his shirt and concentrated further. Suddenly, two cries of fury rang through the forest.

"Megan ni um!"

"Espeon!"

A leaf storm shot through the forest and slammed into the Onix, causing it to release it's grip on Ash. At the same time, Espeon's Psychic froze both grunts in their tracks making their gun, useless. Meganium came running through the forest towards the group and used Vine whip to pull Ash up and away from the Onix.

"Thanks Meganium, you guys came just in time," Ash said with a tired smile as he turned around so Meganium could bite through the rope that held his wrists, "Espeon hold them tight, I'm coming to take care of it."

By this time, the rest of the group had relaxed their positions and came forward with Ash to face the grunts.

**Master, I'm glad you're alright. **

"Pika pikachu PikaPi!" Pikachu said as he leapt up onto his rightful perch.

"Espeon take the pokeballs from them and drop them over there but keep them stuck." Ash said as he rubbed his wrists to get the blood flowing again.

"Espe!" The sun dog chirped before he did as his trainer commanded.

Ash then turned to the grunts, "Listen to me," Ash grabbed the second grunt who had kneed him, "If you ever threaten my friends again... I won't be smiling when I send you running away, and that could end badly for you."

"Ha! All a bluff. You're too soft. You would never hurt anyone much less kill them! Just let us go and send us away, little boy," The grunt answered.

"Maybe you're right... I..." Ash started to explain further, when the grunt interrupted,

"You don't have the balls to do it," He sneered.

_Pow!_

The Grunt slid to the ground, now out of Espeon's psychic. He was out cold from the right hook to the jaw Ash had given him. Ash held his hand for a moment before pointing at the unconscious and snoring grunt's, partner.

"You just run. Got it?" Ash looked at him with a mixture of hurt and anger. The grunt nodded with fear in his eyes. After being released by Espeon, he took off into the forest leaving his comrade behind. Ash reached to his belt and released Charizard.

"Charizard scorch it," Ash said pointing at the gun, but Charizard lifted into the air to chase the grunt, "No not him the gun. Geez Charizard I know you hate Rockets but no."

Charizard huffed.

"Look, maybe next time Jessie, James, and Meowth come and try to ruin my day, then you can do the honors of roasting their balloon again, deal?" Ash said with a smile.

Charizard nodded and shot a flamethrower at the gun leaving melted metal in the grass. Ash spoke again, "Make sure that grunt leaves the forest. No flamethrower terror, okay?" Charizard nodded and took off.

Ash returned Espeon and Meganium, then turned to the group,

"It didn't feel right to do that to him," Ash said now looking at the still snoring grunt.

"In my opinion he deserved it. Good for you, Ash." Drew said first, surprisingly.

Misty walked up to him, "Don't ever do that again!" Misty's face was red and her eyes had tears forming in the corners, "You hear me Ash Ketchum!?" She even surprised herself a bit, why was she _so_ worried?

"Misty... I couldn't let that guy hurt any of you." Ash said trying to reach out to her

Harley tried to say something, no doubt inappropriate, and Solidad cupped her hand over his mouth before he could finish.

Misty backed away from Ash. She clinched her fists and rushed forward. She pushed him hard and he flew back into the river he stood in front of.

_Splash!_

"Misty!" Bianca said in surprise after Misty had started to pant. Ash came to the surface, but instead of yelling out angrily, he floated. Looking at her first in sadness, a smile then formed on his face,

"Well, I suppose I deserved that, but did you have to push in Pikachu too?" Ash said looking at Pikachu. Pikachu sat looking up at Misty with a bit of frustration. He was dripping with water after already swimming up to the shore.

"Pika. pika. chuuuuu," He shook and then turned to look at Ash.

"I used my aura to release Meganium and Espeon from their pokeballs away from the clearing. I didn't get the chance to really tell you about my plan, but I could've given you some sort of sign. Sorry guys, you too Misty. I guess I broke my promise about warning you guys when I was going to do something like that again," Ash said with a frown.

"..." Misty just stared at the ground.

"Misty..." Ash started.

"..."

"Misty please... I'm sorry. I'm okay now," Ash said now holding onto the bank of the river.

"How many times... Ash?" Misty began.

"What?" Ash asked.

"How many times will I have to almost lose you?" Misty said with a blush forming. He probably had no idea how important that statement was to Misty. There were many times that didn't include mortal danger where she felt she had almost lost him. Never the less, she was more focused on how often he seemed to almost die.

"..." Ash thought of what to say next.

Brock and Gary looked at each other while the others did the same. Paul kept his eyes on the snoring grunt but continued to listen.

"Well?" Misty said, blush disappearing and angry red face returning.

"Misty, no matter how much you care about someone you can't change who they are. I mean yeah, people can change but... not... not with their uh... methods for caring," Ash said, scratching his head. He didn't ever know how to express himself well.

Misty stood there staring at him for the longest time. Finally she answered. "Whatever," Misty turned to look at the grunt, "What are we going to do with him?"

Ash kept looking at her for a moment before a half smile returned to his face. He looked at the grunt and said, "Well he'll get to go see his buddy Jeremy again."

"I'll go get Jenny," Stephan offered.

"I'll go with you," Cameron nodded before they both ran off.

Finally Harley couldn't be contained any longer, "I don't get it you two are so in love, why don't you both kiss and make up already?"

Everyone turned around with daggers in their eyes, shock, or indifference, until two voices caught their ears and turned their gaze the other way again,

"We aren't in love!" Misty yelled, face red.

"We aren't lovers!" Ash said, accidentally fumbling his words. His face turned even redder when he realized what he had actually said, but before he could fix his mistake Gary jumped in, unable to resist the slow ball Ash had thrown across the plate.

"Whoa Lovers!? Who said anything about Lovers, Ashy-Boy!?" Gary asked with a mischievous grin. Ash almost flew out of the water after Gary as he darted away, laughing like a madman.

"Ummm. Is that normal behavior?" Cress leaned forward.

"Yeah, they've been rivals almost since the day they were born. I don't think any amount of maturing could ever erase that from them," Brock said with a smile. He walked over to Misty and put a hand on her shoulder, "Misty, I know you're still mad at him. I am too a little, but I don't think in the same way you are. Ash at least seemed to have a plan so it makes me happy he's learned how to look after himself. Ash actually did have a good point though you know, when he said you can't change who they care for. Love isn't something you can force on someone or mentor someone in. Everyone loves differently. Ash has always cared about us like the great friend he is, still cares, and he will always be that way. I don't think anything could ever change that. Try to relax. Okay? Things turned out well."

_This time... _Misty thought, but eventually she tried to get past sighed, "I know. He's one of my best friends, I just don't know what I'd do if something happened to him."

"Yeah I know what you mean, Misty," Max said finding his voice.

Everyone started talking and relaxing again, all waiting to give Jenny their report once she arrived. Ash had started to dry off from his dip in the river. Finally Paul spoke,

"Why were those Rockets after you anyway?"

"Yeah I was kinda wondering about that too, Ash," Kenny added.

"Well, during the last year, I seemed to come across a lot of them. Somewhere along the way I decided to try and stop them, get them arrested, and free their pokemon if I could. That's what you guys saw me do to that one guy on the Dodrio," he motioned to the original group, "and now I can release these guys pokemon too. Really not too different than what I've always done. I guess these guys just knew that Jeremy guy personally or something," Ash said shrugging his shoulders.

Everyone nodded and then heard as Jenny, Stephan, and Cameron approached. They each gave their stories to Jenny and she arrested the grunt. Charizard came back not too long after that and Ash returned him after praising him. Jenny left with the grunt and everyone watched while Ash released the grunts' pokemon and crushed each of their pokeballs, releasing them into the wild.

**They were very grateful Master. **Lucario said nodding in the direction of where the pokemon were disappearing. Ash smiled.

"Hey, there's one more pokeball over here." Trip said and pointed at the ball that leaned against a nearby tree. Ash walked over to the tree and picked up the pokeball, releasing the creature.

"Wow. It's a Zorua!" Dawn said excited.

The Zorua looked around quite afraid at first, until its eyes locked on Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario.

**Can it really be?**

Everyone was initially shocked to hear the Zorua speak and listened further as she continued.

**Lucario, have you been trained by that boy in the ways of Aura?**

Lucario stiffened and then started to growl.

**Perhaps. Why does that matter to you?**

Zorua looked upset at first before continuing.

**I'm sorry if I made you angry, I was just curious. My Papa used to tell me stories about the Aura Guardians.**

**I Imagine he did. Did he discuss how many of Aura Guardians his ancestors hunted? Did he brag about his great grandfather's accomplishments!? **Lucario snapped.

"Wait! Lucario what are you talking about?" Ash looked down at his partner, stunned at his sudden loss of control.

**...He didn't. He was sad.**

**Hmph. Right, and I'm Ho-oh.**

"Come on! Tell me what's up! Why are you being so mean to Zorua?" Ash raised his voice, starting to get aggravated.

**Forgive me Master. Zorua and Zoroark used to be known for being partners with the Dark ones. They are almost as responsible for the eradication of the Guardians as their cruel Masters were.**

**That's not completely true! Papa used to tell me that proud Zorua and Zoroark once fought along side the Guardians.**

**Lies. My elders never told me of such tales.**

**...My Papa used to tell me a story about the transformation Zorua and Zoroark underwent if they linked with a Guardian. It's true what you said about my kind being known for partnering with the Dark ones, but just like there aren't as many guardians anymore, there are no transformed Zorua or Zoroark anymore that I know of.**

**...I can't trust you in regards to my Master's safety.**

Lucario finally said, before charging up a very powerful looking aura sphere. Ash walked out in front and started to approach Zorua, blocking Lucario's path.

**Ma...Master! What are you doing?!**

Ash kneeled down in front of Zorua and spoke, "Zorua... Are you telling the truth?" Ash's voice seemed calm and firm like when he had spoken to Tyranitar. Everyone in the clearing stared. Zorua looked at the ground and then back at Ash with a serious look on her face,

**I'm telling the truth, Sir Ashton. I... I want to join your team. I want to learn to use aura sphere. I want to know if my Papa's stories are true, and I want to make him and my kind proud!**

Ash stared into her eyes for a moment before softening his gaze, "I believe you Zorua and I'd love to have a pokemon like you on my team," Ash said with a smile.

"Pikapikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

**Master, surely you jest!**

"No Lucario, I'm serious. If we aren't willing to have the courage to give others a chance, If we hide away and not help those who reach out their hand, then what kind of Guardians are we?" Ash said while staring at Lucario. Everyone else seemed to be at least somewhat inspired by the words. Lucario looked at his partner for only a moment longer before kneeling on one knee, Ash looked shocked before Lucario spoke.

**Forgive me Master, sometimes I must remind myself that it is I who is the student and you are the teacher. Your knowledge is great; many are able to gain the knowledge of the mind, but few have the knowledge of the heart as you do. I will do what you will to help aid our new comrade.**

Ash stared for a moment before sheepishly rubbing his head, "Thanks I guess Lucario." Some of the others smiled, understanding more what Lucario had said to Ash than Ash did. Ash walked over to his backpack and retrieved a Luxury ball, "Hey look here your pokeball matches Lucario's" Ash said smiling, "Welcome to the team, Zorua."

**Thank you so much! I will work hard to please you Ash! And thanks for saving me from those bad men! **Zorua said with a happy laugh before connecting with the pokeball and being captured. Ash picked up the ball and released Zorua.

"Come on out, Zorua!" Ash said. Zorua landed gracefully and ran up to Ash who started to pet her when she froze with her head in his palm.

"Zorua? Are you okay?" Ash asked concerned, "Zorua?"

**It's... It's so warm.**

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ash said and everyone leaned closer waiting to hear Zorua's answer.

**Your... Your Aura. I feel it and it's so warm.**Zorua purred and her muscles relaxed against his palm.

**But... That's impossible. You could only feel it like that if you...** Lucario never got to finish his sentence, as Zorua started to glow and Ash's chest seemed to glow blue near his heart.

**That's impossible!**

"Lucario! Lucario what's happening!?" Misty said worriedly.

Lucario was silent and in shock for a moment, before he answered.

**Ash is linking with yet another Aura partner. Most guardians can only link with one. Maybe since there are so few guardians left, he has for some reason gained the ability to link with more. This is his third link, myself and Pikachu being the other two. You all are about to experience something quite remarkable so show the utmost respect. You also will be revealed something very private of Ash's so please show decency.**

"What do you mean, something private?" Paul asked, getting uncomfortable with all the mysterious things that had happened today.

**A memory. Just watch. **As Lucario said that, a great blue light shown and they all could see things happening around them.

"It's like... like a time flower!" Max said. Everyone nodded in understanding since they had been told about these things called time flowers, however; most of them had never seen one in action before. They all fell silent as they watched the scenes play before them.

_zzzzzzzzzzzzz~Zorua's flashback~zzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

_A Zorua walked down a dirt road with an older looking Zoroark. The young Zorua looked excited as she jumped around,_

_"That was so much fun Papa! Another great adventure with you!" _

_"Yes I had a good time with you sweetie. Your mother is going to kill me though, we should have been back hours ago," He laughed gently to his daughter._

_There was silence before, "I'm going to do it Papa."_

_"Do what darling?"_

_"I'm going to become an aura partner with a guardian when I'm old enough to leave the den. I want to make you proud," She said seriously._

_"But baby, there... there aren't anymore guardians left..." He sighed, "They were all killed, sadly. I know the world would have been better with them but its simply something we will all have to deal with because of the mistakes of our predecessors."_

_"Papa! How could you say such a thing! There has to be at least one left, you know that! There just has to be..." She said sounding sad. A few moments of silence passed then,_

_"You know, my little one, I will always be proud of you whether you find a guardian or not" The Zoroark said, smiling at his now quiet daughter._

_"I know Papa-san. I love you and you'll see. I'll find one, somewhere, someday."_

_"If anyone could find one it would be you, Musume."_

_zzzzzzzzz~The flashback fades to reveal another~zzzzzzzzzz_

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzz~Ash's Flashback~zzzzzzzzzzzzz_

_A man was walking down the road. A very young Ash held his hand. The man was tall and muscular but not too muscular; his dark raven hair and hat hid his face. He, from what could be seen of his looks, looked a lot like Ash only older. He was smiling as his son talked._

_"Where we going today Daddy?"_

_"A special place... The place I met Poliwrath." The man smiled, making everyone even more aware of the similarities between the man and Ash._

_"Really?! Yay!" young Ash released the man's hand and ran down the road, "Let's go let's go!" He yelled excitedly._

_The man laughed to himself before picking up speed into a brisker walk. A Pikachu seemed to fade into existence on his shoulder._

_"My dear friend would you mind following him? He has so much more energy than I do now."_

_"Pikapikachu," The Pikachu seemed uninterested._

_"Hpmh. I know you're not as young as you used to be, but you're much faster than me."_

_"Pika. Pika," It answered. It's eyes glanced towards the disappearing figure of the young Ash and its scarred ears twitched at the young boy's laughter._

_"I know you care about him, almost as much as I do, friend," The man smiled. The Pikachu sighed and shook his head,_

_"Pika chu chu pi."_

_"I know I know you too well. It comes with the territory of being friends."_

_The Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and ran to catch up to Ash._

_zzzzzzz~Another scene comes into view~zzzzzzz_

_The man laid under a tree with Ash resting against his chest. They gazed at the beautiful Kanto countryside together as they started to talk._

_"...I wanna be a pokemon master, daddy, just like you." Ash said looking up behind him at his father's hidden face._

_"Do you?" The man asked smiling, undoubtedly knowing his answer._

_"Yeah!" Ash smiled._

_"Then I will give you your first lesson to becoming a master," Man said, allowing his smile to fall a bit._

_"Really!? Okay what is it?" Ash said showing obvious excitement._

_"Pokemon are important to becoming a pokemon master... That much is obvious, but there is something else that many people forget to remember."_

_"What's that, daddy?"_

_"They forget this, people will try to put you down, to walk over you, to climb their way to the top."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes, you must remember not to lose yourself on the way. Not to give up. Not to listen to the voices that say your work is for nothing. You will lose battles, but losing is sometimes more important than winning. To be honest I imagine I've lost twice the amount of battles I've won."_

_"But, your a pokemon master! How's that work?"_

_"Because winning isn't everything. No doubt it will hurt the first time you lose an important battle, but let it make you stronger not beat you down. Learn from it. Those who make the most mistakes tend to learn the most and become the legends in the end."_

_"Wow, daddy. How do you know so much?"_

_"...I've lived and learned what's important. I have good friends, pokemon and human alike, and now I have something that's even greater than the Master's trophy."_

_"What's that?"_

_"You, Ashton..."_

_There was silence between them, until,_

_"Okay, daddy. I get it. I'll do like you say. I won't give up, no matter what... and I'll make sure to remember what's import... impor..entent... Sorry daddy, you said a lot of big words."_

_The man ruffled the hair on Ash's head._

_"No worries, buddy, no worries at all."_

_They remained on the ground together, finally falling asleep under the great tree._

_zzzzzzzzzzz~Final Flashback comes, less clear than the last two~zzzzzzzz_

_The man shouted something to Ash's mother and turned to leave. Ash began crying off to the side. The man glanced at him frowning, before turning to go._

_Outside he released an Aerodactyl. As he tried to mount his pokemon in the rain, Ash came running out, trying to catch up to him, tripping along the way._

_"Wait! Daddy! Please!" Ash called out. The man made no sound. Ash eventually fell and stayed on the ground looking at his father with tears in his eyes. The man mounted the pokemon and took flight. As he disappeared into the rain and clouds above, Ash yelled out, _

_"Who needs you anyways!" Ash panted after yelling and stared at the place his father once was. He dipped his head to then stare at the ground._

_"It...*sniff*... It doesn't matter *sniff*... I'll still become a pokemon master. I don't need you. You'll see!" Ash yelled once more at the sky. Tears readily flowed down his cheeks. He clenched his tiny hands in anguish. Finally, he turned and darted into the Pallet Forest, disappearing amongst the undergrowth..._

_zzzzzzzz~Flashbacks end~zzzzzzzz_

The blue hue vanished and everyone in the clearing was silent. Ash stared at the ground, unmoving...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

**Couldn't put that above or it would've spoiled the surprise! :)**

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Well now we've gotten a bit of a look into the past. We'll have Gary explore this a bit more with us next time. Also the secondary challenge will be revealed and our heroes will head out! Who knows what the League has in store for them!**

**Review, Favorite, Follow! See you next time! :D**

**Also Now that that other poll is over, I'm going to make a new one.**

**It'll pretty much have to do with how often you guys want me to update.**

**I have a good portion of the story ready to publish so I will have a lot of flexibility. **

**Once those chapters run out, I'll have to see what's going on and maybe make an update schedule myself at that point.**

**Thanks for your support!**


	7. Choosing Sides

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Ash's father: 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the story continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_The blue hue vanished and everyone was silent. Ash was staring at the ground, unmoving. Zorua looked at him then down to the ground before speaking and breaking the silence_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**I'm sorry, Master.**

Ash didn't respond. He stood up slowly, smiling weakly, before turning and walking off into the forest. Pikachu started to follow before Lucario spoke,

**No comrade. He needs time... Such memories aren't just displayed as you well know, they are relived. Give him a few minutes before you go find him.**

Pikachu looked as though he is going to refuse, before he sighed and sat down in place staring into the woods where Ash left.

"Poor Ash..." May finally said, unable to hold back some tears.

"I did find it odd that I never met Mr. Ketchum... Alas I never would have imagined... I feel great sadness for my friend. What a bitter taste," Cilan said before becoming silent again.

"I have a new respect for Ash's determination," Zoey said in sadness. Most everyone else nodded in agreement, even Paul seemed a slight bit emotional, his face wearing a more depressed look than his normal scowl.

"I don't get it! Why would Ash's father be such a jerk and leave like that!? He seemed so nice at first!" Max said beginning to get angry.

"No one really knows... Not even gramps," Gary said suddenly.

"Gary, You've known Ash longer than anyone... What do you know?" Brock asked.

Gary sighed, "That was one thing that me and Ash bonded about. I lost my parents at an early age, even though I still have foggy and pleasant memories of them. Me and Ash were always arguing back then, but when my parents died... I was surprised when Ash seemed to be the one trying to comfort me the most. Gramps tried, but he was dealing with his own grief and I didn't blame him, but Ash... he was just there; whether he knew it or not... He was there when I needed someone the most. Then it happened, Ash's Father just seemed to change his whole personality over night. He was always a bit more of a... rule breaker than Ash, a tad more rough around the edges. Ash was more like his mother, kind, gentle, but he did gain some of his father's determination, strength of character, and his temper or uh passion," Gary laughed a little before continuing, "but Ash's father was someone I always looked up to, second to my parents and gramps. He was a hell of a trainer and always friendly. He was protective of Pallet town and everyone who lived there. Everyone liked him. Then he changed overnight and the next night he left, never to be heard much of again. Someone that was a friend of my father and Ash's father, was, within the next month, sworn in as Pokemon Master in Ash's father's place. Ash was quiet for a week at least. Every time I tried to play or argue with him he said nothing and just would walk or run away. I would have never told him back before we got more mature with each other, but I just wanted to be there for him like he was for me... Eventually he seemed to return to his old self and sometimes we would talk about it. In almost no time, we were both back to our old ways again, arguing and competing with each other. Before we knew it, it was time for us to start our own pokemon journeys, and the rest you all know."

"It just seems odd... The whole thing. It's not normal for someone to change overnight like that." Cress said, Brock agreed,

"I have to agree, it seems as though something is missing."

"Well Ash's father always did have an undeniable hunger for adventure. My father used to tell me that when I was young and asked about his journey. They were rivals, my dad and Ash's. Maybe his hunger for action got the better of him. Ash used to want to be like his father, but now, at least since then, I think he's been trying to not become his father."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked

"We all fear to some degree, for great or small reasons, about becoming like our parents. I think that's one reason why he feels obligated to everyone of his friends he meets. He feels the desire or maybe even the duty to stand by each of you. Not leave a man behind, as some say, because he simply doesn't want to repeat his father's mistake. We are products of our parents, genetically and environmentally. We, like every living creature, are molded thusly, but there is one other thing I believe that I would never put in a scientific paper, and that is that there is something else that guides who we are, the heart maybe? I don't know, but whatever it is it keeps each of us unique and prevents us from being copies of our predecessors. That's why I don't believe and never will believe that Ash will become his father, like he fears. Ash is Ash and that will never change. Ash said it himself, without even realizing it, we can't change who we are at our core."

Everyone was moved by the conversation and nodded.

"I just can't believe he's... a master's kid..." Trip muttered, "I didn't know the master was from the boonies..."

"Enough of the boonies stuff, Trip." Iris spoke with iritation.

Gary seemed to ignore Trip's mild insult and moved on, "Yep... Master Redrick Satoshi Ketchum."

"How come the reporters haven't been following Ash since day one? For that matter why didn't they and the cheerleaders of yours ditch you and follow Ash?" Misty asked with a bit of a mocking glare. A vein pulsed on Gary's head briefly before he calmed down and answered,

"Because, Red didn't want that for Pallet town, especially for Mrs. K and Ash. He never told the League his last name, only a few knew. Mainly my family and Mr. Goodshow. The reporters just never made the connection, especially after Red vanished and my parents... well you know," Gary answered.

Finally they heard Lucario's voice,

**You may go to him now if you wish, Pikachu. All of the rest of you may join him in a few minutes.**

Pikachu nodded to everyone before disappearing into the underbrush.

**He hates me now... I know it. Why did my link with him have to be so sad?**

**We are linked by memories the guardian and partner shares in common. You miss you're father and so does Ashton. **

Zorua sighed before Misty walked up to her.

"He won't hate you. You don't know Ash like we do. Trust me. You didn't know, it's not your fault." Misty said smiling, her eyes were a bit red from crying.

**Thanks, Lady Misty.**

Eventually everyone looked up and was surprised to see Ash walking towards them, trying to hold a half smile.

"Ash?" Misty bravely moved forward. She noticed Pikachu, on Ash's shoulder, still looked sad.

"Yeah Mist?" He responded. He was trying to be normal and she respected his attempt to be brave.

"I just want you to know and I think I speak for everyone here when I say, that we are here for you Ash and everything is okay," Misty said trying to smile at Ash.

"Thanks. That means more to me than you could ever know. Anyways, _he_, doesn't matter anymore to me, you guys do. Everything's fine just like you said. I'm just gonna bury it all like before." Ash said, not able to prevent a small frown.

"Ash... It's not good to bury something like that. If there ever comes a time when you need to talk about it, don't be afraid to." Misty said never letting her eyes leave his.

"...Okay Mist. I'll keep it in mind. I'll talk to you about it if I need to. I've been doing pretty good so far anyway. Anyways, I think we all need to make it to the arena pretty soon for the ceremony though," Everyone nodded and then Ash turned to Zorua, "Don't be sad, Zorua It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you." Misty was happy when he looked suddenly at Zorua. She blushed when she realized what he had said. He'd talk to _her_ didn't he mean he'd talk to any of them? Why just her? She shook her head mentally, _Again this is Ash we're talking about._

Zorua smiled and nodded a little sadly, then Ash returned Zorua and Lucario and everyone began to travel together back towards the stadium. Everyone eventually started to enjoy catching up. They hadn't gotten the chance to since this morning's events so they dove into it all.

Finally they found themselves in the stadium as Mr. Goodshow began to speak,

"Welcome one and all once again, competitors! You all have made it to where you are because you are skilled and passionate for the art of battles and contests! The two-thousand and forty-eight contestants that stand here today have been accepted into the next section of the Master Challenge! Now you all have been wondering what this secret second section is, and I'm going to tell you now!"

Everyone there contestants and audience alike cheered. Mr. Goodshow then continued,

"This will be a test of your endurance, character, cooperation, patience, and resourcefulness, not to mention your skills as trainers! You will all form groups of fourteen and travel across the beautiful country of Kanto, the lovely land of Johto, the tropical Hoenn, the chilly Sinnoh, the distant land of Unova and the enchanting country of Kalos! You must work with you're group and collectively obtain the tokens from the six regions I have mentioned. Where are these tokens? Safe with our chosen battle officials, where are they? That's what you will have to figure out! You have three days to choose your group members and I'm aware that there will be four extra participants not in a group, they will each join a group that will have fifteen members. Once your three days are up we will talk to you once again to explain to you the rules and such. You will then all leave from this stadium at once. In one year we will await your arrival, Hopefully all of you will come back successful with all six tokens in your group. If not then you and your group is disqualified. At that point the rest of the tournament will begin! Thank you for your time and good luck choosing your group! Remember you will be with these people for over a year or so, make sure you are confident in your choices! Thanks and good evening, Kanto!"

Mr. Goodshow walked off the stage and the trainers erupted into a frenzy. Eventually Ash and everyone else made it out of the stadium and walked to the cabins.

"Geez those people freaked out! It's like they've never met a friend or something!" Barry said exasperated.

"Well hun, not everyone is as lucky as people like me." Harley said making some sigh.

"Well there's only one problem," Gary interrupted everyone, "We have twenty-five people right here, even if we split into two groups we each need at least one more member."

"What about the groups of fifteen?" Kenny asked.

"It's probably best not to bother. I imagine those groups formed pretty quick." Zoey explained.

Everyone agreed.

"How will we split, then?" Max asked

Ash glanced at Brock and Misty who put there arms over their friend's shoulders.

"Well we traveled with you once through craziness I guess we can do it again!" Misty said happily with a nod from Brock.

"Ash needs a navigator, definitely," Brock chuckled.

"Thanks guys, I guess," Ash replied with a smile and a huff at Brock's joke.

"You know... We've always been opposing each other why not be on the same team for once. Even if it's only temporary," Gary smiled putting an arm around Brock.

"Awesome. It'll be great to travel with you Gary!" Ash said.

May looked at Max and they both smiled.

"Me and Max wanna come with you guys. It's sure to be a good run," May said.

"Yeah it's always a blast with you guys!" Max said, running over to get his hair ruffled by Ash.

Solidad looked down at Drew without anyone noticing. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I know you want to go with her. You should, don't let go and then regret not acting." Drew looked up at her with a tiny blush and a shocked expression. She winked at him and tilted her head towards May. Drew growled quietly and then walked forward,

"Well I guess I'll come with you guys. Any team that doesn't have Harley on it." Drew said. May blushed slightly and Harley ground his teeth.

"Hmph. Whatever! I've become more civil than you think!" Harley said defensively.

"I'm coming too! No need to worry!" Dawn said, running over and getting a high-five from Ash.

"Me too!" Iris said cheerily followed by Cilan's voice,

"Count us in too!" Cilan said with his brothers following behind.

"Our brother got to travel with you Ash and we want to have our chance too!" Cress said happily.

"Yep! Cilan told us all sorts of wicked stories, I wanna be apart of that!" Chili added.

"We need one more over here and then we can have it about even," Gary said.

"We're staying together," Georgia said putting a hand on Burgundy's shoulder.

"Same," Stephan said doing the same with Cameron.

Trip said nothing but kept suspiciously looking over at Georgia.

Nando and Solidad smiled.

Harley grumbled but didn't move.

Bianca smiled staying still next to Stephan and Cameron.

Zoey, Barry, Kenny held each other in a similar way that Ash, Brock, and Misty had.

"We're together! Yeah!" Barry said smiling.

Dawn looked over the group and then smiled, "Hey Paul you could come with us."

A mist of pink briefly graced Paul's face. Honestly he had been quite miserable trying to decide what to do. He wasn't really a people person. He looked at Dawn and then Ash and the rest and something long held within him fluttered. _Could they really become my friends? _An unconscious smile from just that thought tried to fight its way onto his face but was eventually defeated like most cases, none-the-less he nodded

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. You're all somewhat decent trainers... Gotta stay away from this Harley character anyways right?"

"HEY!" Harley yelled.

Everyone laughed in good sport. Paul was a bit shocked, he didn't really mean to be very funny. He though it was clever but not that funny. _Maybe... maybe this won't be so bad._

After everyone worked to calm Harley down. Gary spoke again,

"Well that's about right. Now we just need one more member on our team and two on your guys' team." Gary said. At that moment, they saw a group of people over near the pokemon center. They entered and Gary spoke up again,

"Hey! Gramps!"

Professor Oak smiled at the sound of his grandson's voice and the small crowd became silent.

"Hello everyone, Gary, Ash my boy. I see you've decided to travel together on this adventure!"

"Yep that's right, Professor," Ash said cheerily.

Most people had left the center now. They weren't going to get to talk to the famous professor with his own grandson vying for his attention. They suddenly heard two other familiar voices,

"Ash!" Ritchie spoke.

"How is everyone?" Clemont added as he appeared and stood next to Ritchie. He looked the same as before since it had only been a year since Ash last saw him. He wore his usual clothing.

"Hey fellas what's up?" Ash smiled happily.

"Just an awesome competition that's all!" Ritchie said in response. Ritchie looked different some what. He wore a white t-shirt with a green vest that had the similar pattern of his old clothing. He wore baggy jeans and no hat. His auburn hair fell down similar to Trip's.

"How've you been, Ash?" Clemont asked.

"Great! I've been training real hard," Ash nodded.

"Maybe we'll get to battle each other if we get through the secondary challenge," Clemont smiled back. Professor Oak scanned over everyone and smiled,

"I've counted out your groups and I can't help but notice you're missing a few members."

"Yeah, you're right gramps. We need one more and the second group needs two," Gary answered.

"Hmm... How about Ritchie goes with your and Ash's group and Clemont here goes with the other group?" Oak smiled.

"Yeah! That would be great!" Ash said smiling at Ritchie who gave a thumbs up.

"Nice to meet ya!" Bianca spoke happily and greeted Clemont.

"Yeah same to you," Clemont smiled. Stephan clapped Clemont on the back and almost made him fall over.

"Welcome aboard!" Stephan joked.

"Thanks. I can't wait to get stronger from being in this tournament," Clemont added.

"The other group here still needs one more person," Gary stated, interrupting the pleasantries.

"Ash? Is that you?"

Everyone turned around to see Serena, still the same as before, with her hat placed neatly on her head.

"Hey Serena!" Clemont said cheerily, "It's good to see you again! You should join our group! Ash's is already full but the second group of us needs one more."

"Yeah, join our group, Serena!" Cameron spoke excitedly.

"Okay!" Serena smiled. She silently and subconsciously moved next to Clemont since they knew each other better than the others in their group.

"This is great now everyone has a group! It's even cooler that we're all in the same tournament," Ash said happily, "We might not all be on one team but we've got to promise each other that we'll all make it to the third section of the competition, right everyone!?"

Everyone nodded with an air of friendly rivalry and most smiled.

"Well it's great that everything is settled," Oak said.

Everyone talked for a while before Ash remembered something.

"Oh wait I almost forgot!" Ash said. He reached for a pokeball and released his new Zorua.

Ash released Lucario too and then spoke to Zorua,

"Zorua... I can feel you're still upset. Please believe me when I say I don't blame you for what happened."

**...Master, I... I just... I made you sad. I don't deserve you as my trainer anymore.**

"Incredible! A talking Zorua!" Oak said with an open mouth.

"It's okay, Zorua." Ash said again before petting her. Zorua finally smiled brightly and said

**Okay... If you say so Master.**

Suddenly Zorua started to glow a bright blue and Ash's pendent glowed too.

"Lucario, what's happening now?" Gary asked quickly, "Is she evolving?"

**No... I... I don't know.**

Finally the light died down and Zorua smiled. Where her red parts of fur once were, now blue took their place.

"Zorua... she changed colors!" Misty exclaimed.

**It happened! It actually happened!** Zorua skipped around after looking in the window at her reflection

**Is... is this the transformation your Papa was talking about?** Lucario asked.

**Yeah Papa-san was right! I've fully linked with a pure aura user and can start my training!**

After a few odd looks from Serena, Clemont, Ritchie, and Professor Oak, everyone began to explain everything about Ash's Aura powers and what had happened earlier. They were careful to be vague about Ash's memory, concerning his father, but no one could deny the frown that came on Oak's face at the mention of Redrick. They all agreed to help keep these things mostly secret. By the time they finished telling the story it had gotten late. The groups split up to go to their own cabins. It had been a long day and three days from now, things would only get tougher.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The next three days went by peacefully, no Team Rocket, or anything. The various trainers called their families to inform them of the traveling they'd be doing. On the day before the sending away ceremony, everyone met up to plan what they were going to do. Both groups came together to discuss it. Just because technically they were rivals in the competition, didn't mean they saw it that way really. Everyone there, no matter how competitive, wanted to see everyone in the two groups make it to at least the third section. They started to talk about getting the tokens from the six regions,

"They expect us to find these officials or whatever in the middle of a whole country? I just don't see how we're supposed to do that," Iris said before pouting.

"I expect they will be giving us a clue or something tomorrow. They have to, right?" Ritchie said tentatively.

"Seems right," Ash agreed.

"Should we come up with a plan B incase they don't give us a clue tomorrow?" Trip asked.

"That's probably not a bad idea, Trip," Gary said before holding his chin in thought.

"If I was the pokemon league... Where would I hide those tokens?" Dawn asked.

"Maybe someplace difficult to reach, or known for its tough training environment?" Solidad responded.

"I sure hope they don't send us somewhere too dirty," Harley whined.

"There's no fun unless we get some dirt on us!" Cameron responded.

Brock meanwhile was in deep thought and then suddenly, "I've got it!" Brock exclaimed.

"Really?" Stephan asked.

"There is a place, beyond Pewter city. It's known to have strong pokemon, maybe they could have hidden a token there. My father trained there for a while when he was working at the gym when I was young," Brock answered.

"Hey! Yeah I've heard of that place. We could look there and anywhere else that is difficult to train at or hard to get to. Nice idea Brock-o," Ash added.

"Yeah that is a pretty good plan. I know a place we can check in Sinnoh too," Zoey said.

"The Battle Zone!" Barry finished her idea with a big toothy grin. Paul nodded in agreement at that suggestion.

Eventually the talking turned to other topics

"Hey Ash, could you tell us how you got your Jolteon and Espeon? And is Meganium your Bayleef that evolved?" Max asked excitedly.

"Yes Bayleef did evolve, as for Jolteon and Espeon... They're actually brothers. I was visiting a few places in Kanto before moving on the Johto and I met up with Bill again. He said that two of his pokemon had had twins and he knew he didn't have the resources or the time to properly care for them. He asked me if I wanted them and I said sure. That was actually the first time I found out I could sense the presence inside of a thing like an egg. Imagine my surprise when I found out I had two Eevees!"

Ash smiled and Max began to ask more about them,

"So what made you decide on Jolteon and Espeon as the two eevelutions you wanted? There are so many, how did you decide?" Max asked his, self-appointed mentor.

"Simple. I didn't, they did," Ash grinned.

"What do you mean, Ash?" Kenny asked.

"Jolteon was the first to decide. I noticed that he was really bonding with Pikachu alot, right buddy?" Ash started.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu answered and Ash continued,

"He seemed interested in Pikachu's electricity and eventually Lucario and Pikachu let me know that he wanted to evolve into Jolteon. As soon as I was able to get a hold of a thunder stone, he evolved. Then something awesome happened..."

"What?" Misty asked.

"Espeon evolved right after," Ash answered.

"No way, why?" May asked.

"He said that they had both wanted to evolve at the same time. We didn't have another stone and he had grown attached to me. He said he had wanted to evolve into an Espeon anyway, so I was glad he was happy in the end and everything worked out," Ash finished his story.

"That's neat. Two brothers evolving at the same time, how sweet," Serena smiled brightly.

"Precious!" Dawn cooed.

"Amazing! What a bond," Clemont responded.

Eventually the two groups separated to do their own things and get ready for their travels tomorrow. As Ash's group started heading to their collective cabin they had moved to, Ash suddenly groaned,

"Oh Come on!" Ash yelled suddenly.

"What's wrong now?" Drew questioned.

"Team Rocket. Jessie, James, and Meowth. They're nearby and are up to no good," Ash responded.

"Seriously? Those idiots are still following you?" Paul asked.

No one got the chance to answer him before they heard laughter and three voices,

Prepare for Trouble!

and Make it Double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth! That's Right!

"Ha! We got to say our motto this time!" James yelled victoriously.

"Gah! It's been 10 years almost! Can't you take a hint already!?" Ash yelled frustrated.

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

Gary leaned over to Brock, "Will this be a common interruption?" he asked, believing he already knew the answer.

"Yep. Sorry everyone, but get used to it. One of the only downsides to traveling with Ash," Brock answered.

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

"Now we get the chance to capture all of you twerps' pokemon!" Meowth said with a grin.

"Right... If you can't get _one_ of my pokemon, then that means you'll be able to get all of ours, makes sense," Ash said with his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"UHH! How dare you!? Who do you think you are twerp!?" Jessie yelled angrily.

"Ash Ketchum," Ash deadpanned.

"GRRRR!" Jessie said with steam coming from her ears.

"Misty calls, Starmie!" Misty said suddenly, "Use Swift on that balloon!"

Starmie floated while spinning up to the balloon and used Swift, efficiently surprising the trio, popping the balloon, and sending them flying,

"We didn't even get to try and catch the pokemon!" James whined as they started to fly off.

"You'll regret this!" Jessie screamed.

"One problem, Jess. I don't think they do," Meowth replied.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They all three yelled before vanishing.

"That's what you get for hurting Ash!" Misty yelled as they disappeared. A slight blush came to her face when she realized what she had said.

"...You did that for me?" Ash looked at her in a little bit of confused shock.

"I um... yeah. Jessie's Arbok poisoned you last time they showed up when you saved Macy... They deserved it for putting you in a hospital, even if it was only for a little while," Misty said nervously at first before becoming more confident in her reasoning. She spoke again, "Your one of my best friends, and I don't like people hurting my friends." Misty added smiling.

"...Thanks Mist," Ash finally finished with a smile, "The only problem is you're going to have to explain to Charizard why I didn't call him out to light up their balloon," Ash added with a cheeky smile.

_Wham!_

Ash was face down on the ground after a mighty whack from Misty's mallet.

"I help defend you from Team Rocket and give you this nice speech about you being my friend, and you tell me I'm going to have to talk to an angry Charizard! You're impossible, Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled. Pikachu just shook his head.

Most in the group laughed before they scraped Ash off the ground and continued to return to their cabin. They ate some take-out and loitered around in the cabin, bored out of their minds. Ash was leaning back in one of the chairs with his feet on the table, eyes closed, Pikachu resting on his lap. Max sat next to him cycling through his own pokedex entries, Gary was reading the newspaper, Drew was typing on the computer and doing some sort of research, Paul was going through his belongings and packing, Ritchie was watching something decent on TV, Brock and the Striation brothers were having a quiet conversation about food and cooking, and the girls had disappeared into the bedrooms.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-With the boys-zzzzzzzzzzz

"I get so tired of this," Gary said finally placing the paper on the table and sighing, "All these gossipers and their quick-fix solutions for training and raising pokemon. It takes the focus away from studies like me and Gramps do in the field."

"Eh. They don't know what they're talking about, try not to let it worry you too much, Gary. There are fewer people that fall for that stuff than you think," Ash replied with his eyes still closed.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Maybe I should stop reading the paper, it just makes me sad or angry," Gary added.

"I'm soooo bored," Max said yawning.

"Maybe you should try to go to sleep?" Ash asked.

"No way! I'm too excited for sleep!" Max replied.

"We just have to kinda relax and get ready for tomorrow. Besides tonight, like the last two nights, are good test runs to see how we will work traveling together," Drew added, never looking up from his computer.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Max said sadly. Ash then opened his eyes and glanced at everyone in the room,

"Hey, I know what we could do, if you guys are interested," Ash said as sly smile started forming on his face.

"What's that?" Chili turned from the completed conversation to ask.

"We could go visit the pokemon egg and I could tell you guys what might be in it," Ash replied.

"And get kicked out of the competition before it begins? I'll pass," Paul responded.

"Yeah, what are you thinking Ash we can't just go visit the egg and take it out of it's case," Gary said.

"We wouldn't have to," Ash said with a smile, "I don't need to hold it. I just need to be within the same room as it is."

Everyone's attention was captured as they tried to fight their curiosity. Eventually they all caved,

"I can't help it I have to know what's in there!" Max said excitedly.

Eventually everyone agreed, some more reluctantly than others.

"But remember, we are only going into the exhibition room. No more than that. We have to hurry though. They'll be closing and locking the room for the night," Gary said cautiously.

Everyone nodded in agreement and walked out of the cabin, Pikachu following behind...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-With the girls-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Come on Misty... Tell us do you like him or not?" May whined impatiently.

"Look Misty, we already know the answer," Iris said.

"We just want to help you, really! We think you two would make an awesome couple!" Dawn said squealing at the end.

"Okay fine! To be completely honest with you about whether or not I like Ash... The answer is I don't know," Misty sighed before explaining, "I've been asked out by a lot of guys since I'm one of the Sensational sisters... but I could always tell that the reason they asked me out wasn't the right ones, so I always declined. With Ash... I know he's different. He's kind, gentle, brave, passionate, can make me laugh, and most importantly he respects me and cares about me. The problem is that we've been friends for so long, that the idea of us being... more than that... feels weird. Not only that, but what if he doesn't feel the same way? I mean it's been a long time since we've travelled together... I don't want things to be awkward between us if it doesn't work out. Also this is Ash we are talking about, the densest person on the face of the planet! How do I know he even would know what I meant if I said I like him?"

The three other girls nodded in understanding and then May finally spoke,

"You have to try... or you'll never know and then you'll regret it forever if you let him slip away, Misty," May said. Normally she was often irrational when it came to discussing girl things with them, acting silly or over dramatic, but this time she looked into Misty's eyes without wavering.

"May's right Misty, but remember we aren't trying to force you into something... We just want to help," Dawn added.

"We'll be here to help every step of the way and we'll be there if it doesn't work out too. Besides I remember something that my Elder used to always tell me about friends and relationships, 'Bonds are made, hidden from the eyes. Parts of us are always left behind'," Iris said.

"Wow! That's really pretty, Iris. Your Elder sure is wise," May smiled.

"Yeah! It's really true you know? Even though people may be separated... A bond always remains," Dawn smiled.

"Thanks girls, you're the best!" Misty said after agreeing with them. They all then had a group hug.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-Back with the guys-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"I don't know how this happened... How did this happen? How did I get pulled into something like this? Breaking into the Pokemon League... I must be losing my mind," Gary hissed as they crouched, moving slowly through the back rooms and hallways that someone had left unlocked. They had arrived to look at the egg a little too late. One comment led to another, mostly involving Ash calling Gary a chicken. Now here they all were traipsing through the Pokemon League's exhibition area as, technically, criminals, none-the-less.

"Hey we're not technically doing anything wrong. Just looking, remember?" Ash said with a calm smile.

"Right, because apparently in your world, breaking and entering is legal, am I right?" Drew retorted.

"Shhhh. As much as I agree you and think Ash is an idiot, we need to be quiet. We're here, it's done, let's just see it and go before anyone's the wiser," Paul hissed.

Eventually they got silent and found the egg. Ash locked his eyes on it and then closed his eyes. A few minutes passed...

"Well?" Ritchie finally asked.

No response.

"Ash?" Cilan prodded.

Nothing.

"Ash!" Gary finally said whispering loudly and shaking him. Ash finally responded and turned to them,

"I... I... couldn't tell what it was... I mean I've felt that aura before, but I can't place it... Not only that but their seems to be some sort of seal of some kind on it..." Ash spoke softly while also seemingly in deep thought.

"Seriously? You drag us all the way here and then you can't tell what it is!?" Drew said frustrated.

"Hey look I'm sorry, but that egg isn't a normal pokemon egg," Ash said trying to indicate to Drew to lower his volume.

"What do you mean, Ash?" Brock questioned.

"Yeah what do you mean by 'not normal'?" Max seconded.

"Well... I can't tell you that either, but I can tell you one thing..."Ash said trying to organize his next words, "We expect that the egg will hatch while all the competitors are traveling, right?"

"Well, yes... Over a year is more than enough time for an egg to hatch, I think." Cress said.

"Well I can't tell you what pokemon it is... Or why it's sealed... but I can promise you this, that egg won't hatch while we're gone," Ash said with a stern look on his face.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-Everyone back in the cabin-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The boys finally managed to stumble back to the cabin, undetected, only to be met by four angry girls.

"Where were you guys!?" May asked.

"Yeah! We thought you all just vanished or something!" Dawn added.

All the boys pointed or motioned to Ash.

"Hey! Thanks for throwing me under the bus guys!" Ash said with a pout.

"Ash... What did you all go and do?" Misty said suddenly brandishing her mallet.

"Hey! Come on easy Mist! I can explain! Ack!" Ash spoke hurriedly before finding his face planted in the ground again.

The other boys then took the great liberty of explaining what had happened and what Ash had said about the egg. Ash eventually recovered and joined everyone's conversation about the egg.

"How odd. An egg that won't hatch, but it's still alive?" May said confused.

"I mean... I've known that dragon type pokemon eggs are some of the ones that take the longest to hatch... but more than a year?" Iris added.

"Yeah I really have no idea. I've never seen anything like it before," Ash said holding his chin in his hand, "Wait! Maybe Lucario or Zorua know something about it!"

"Good idea, Ash!" Dawn cheered happily.

"Yeah a first for tonight," Gary said with a little anger.

"Hey look I was trying to entertain you guys, sorry for being thoughtful," Ash said then he released his two pokemon.

**Master.**

**Greetings Master.**

"Hey guys... I have a question. Have you ever heard of a pokemon egg that took over a year to hatch, one that had an aura seal of some kind?" Ash questioned and everyone leaned in to listen to the two pokemons' responses.

**I'm sorry Master, I've never heard of such a thing. Papa-san never mentioned anything about eggs like that.**

**Hmmm... Sadly I don't have much more to offer Master, but I do have a suggestion.**

"What's that?" Ritchie asked.

**We could visit the Tree of Beginning if we get the chance during our travels. Lady Mew is an old being and may have more knowledge about such a thing. She would also be quite happy to see you again I'm sure, as well as meet your friends.**

**Oh wow! Meet Lady Mew! How exciting!**

"That's a great idea Lucario! She's got to know. If I ask permission from Lady Ilene and tell her that I brought some trusted guests, I'm sure she would let us visit the tree," Ash said excitedly.

**She will most likely will ask a few favors first before allowing us passage. It's tradition anyways.**

"True, but I don't mind," Ash replied.

"Wait, what does Lucario mean by favors?" Misty asked confused.

Ash blushed slightly and started to speak,

"Oh... yeah I guess I forgot to mention that part," Ash began, "During my year alone I traveled in the direction of Rota. I wanted for some reason to visit the tree. When I got there, Sir Riley was visiting. Apparently he visits when he gets the chance. When I told him I had been learning Aura at my own pace, he was excited and amazed that me and Lucario had learned mostly on our own. I asked Queen Ilene if I could visit the tree, and she said that people can only visit if a guardian accompanies them. The last time we were there, she made an exception because of Pikachu and Meowth. She asked me... she asked me if I wanted to be knighted and officially named an Aura Guardian. I accepted, she knighted me and now I'm called Sir Ashton by almost everyone there. Me and Riley had a sparing match because he wanted to see what I had learned. Somehow... I beat him, well at least until I ran out of energy. I was just as surprised as he was. I only won because for some reason my aura bursts were much more powerful than normal and more powerful than his and it tired him out blocking them. I got real tired and he would've been able to finish me off then, but he was too interested in trying to understand why my bursts were so strong. He said that most likely, my lineage is one that had a strong strain of aura and by returning to Rota, a land rich with aura energy, it caused my energy to rise. Maybe I was even directly related to Sir Aaron and that's why my aura is so much like his. He told me Sir Aaron wasn't just an Aura Guardian but was an Aura Master. Eventually I traveled to the tree. If I ask Queen Ilene and do some things around the castle for her, then she should allow us passage to the tree with you as my guests," Ash finished looking up at the group.

"Whoa... You've been knighted by a real Queen, Ash! That's so awesome!" Max said.

"A knight, huh? I'll have to see it to believe it, Ashy-Boy," Gary said with a smirk.

"So then you guys want to visit Rota and the tree while we're traveling?" Ash asked.

"Sounds like a cool place to me, why not?" Drew replied with an amused smile.

Everyone else nodded, agreeing to the idea.

"Sure why not? There may be strong pokemon there," Paul said finally.

"Umm... about that Paul, we can't catch any pokemon there," Ash said.

"Why not?" Paul said looking a little irritated.

"Because the pokemon in the tree help keep it healthy and vice versa. It's like a small and fragile ecosystem," Brock answered.

"Don't worry about it! There are a lot of fun things to do there. You'll forget about catching pokemon there. It's really great and relaxing there," Ash smiled.

"Sounds great!" Ritchie nodded.

"Whatever, I guess," Paul replied.

The group continued talking into the night about travel stories, advice, and what they were planning to do. Eventually they all decided that they needed to get to sleep. The girls got one side of the cabin's beds and the guys got the other. Ash slept with Pikachu and Zorua curled up near him and Lucario sitting up against the wall. Tomorrow the journey would truly begin.

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**So there we are. We finally have made it out of the Intro Arc, I guess you could call it. Sorry if it has started a bit slow, but I needed this part to explain things and set everything up.**

**I'm going to post another chapter soon, but it won't be a full chapter. Instead It will be more like a place marker to show the chapters that follow it are in the Kanto Arc. So it's not just a blank chapter thing, I think I'll put down everyone's pokemon teams and various other things you guys might want listed.**

**Also if you didn't notice, this chapter was longer than the others. The chapters' lengths might increase a bit here and there, mostly because I wrote the story as one long narrative and didn't try to plan separations and such. As a result, I'm having to find places to break off the chapter and still make it seem like a natural break.**

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**Thanks for reading! :) Review, Favorite, and Follow!**


	8. THE KANTO ARC

**THE KANTO ARC**

Known Teams:

Ash's Team:

Ash

Misty

Brock

Gary

May

Max

Drew

Dawn

Paul

Cilan

Cress

Chili

Iris

Ritchie

The Second Group's Team:

Clemont

Serena

Harley

Solidad

Zoey

Barry

Kenny

Nando

Stephan

Bianca

Cameron

Trip

Georgia

Burgundy

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Known Pokemon: (I'll try my best to list them all as they appear. Each Arc will update this list unless you guys need or want it sooner.)

Ash: Pikachu, Lucario, Pigeot, Jolteon, Espeon, Meganium, Rapidash, Zorua

Misty: Azumarill, Starmie

Brock: Steelix

Gary: Blastoise

May: Blaziken

Max: Sceptile

Dawn: Quilava

Cilan: Stunfisk

Cress: Panpour

Chili: Pansear

Iris: Haxorus

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**If you guys think of anything else you'd like me to list let me know**

**Check out the new poll!**

**Follow, Fav, Review! :D And most importantly, Enjoy!**


	9. The Journey Begins

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

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Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

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Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

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Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless states otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

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They woke up rather groggily, but eventually they got themselves together, Ash returned Lucario and Zorua, and everyone headed to the stadium. All the competitors gathered in the stadium to receive Mr. Goodshow's final speech for a year as well as the rules for the challenge's second section. The Elites and Champions stood nearby. They all waited excitedly and patiently for him to start talking,

"Good morning trainers and co-ordinators, one and all. Today, as you well know, is a glorious one as we send you off onwards to adventure! The rules are simple, find the tokens and come on back. Of course be careful and don't tell your competitors where to find tokens! Why anyone would do that anyway is beyond me, but anyways don't do it. Groups if they feel compelled to combine to adventure through dangerous territory is allowed. Finally the last rule is a bit more fun for all of you! Everyone is allowed access to all of their pokemon, stored where ever they are, through use of the transport button on your pokedexes! You may carry more than six pokemon on this journey! We all discussed it and believe that all of you are responsible enough trainers to handle this privilege. We also feel it is necessary due to the possibly extreme conditions you may face at your own discretion."

"Well that's a given, traveling with you," Misty elbowed Ash is the side, causing most of their group to smile or laugh quietly.

"Ha ha. Hilarious Misty," Ash said smirking slyly as Goodshow continued,

"My final words to you are to be careful, Have fun, and the clue to the first token's location is as follows: A mountain, a cave, a hidden place. Evolved and strong. A tale time's forgotten... Please go register your team and get ready to embark. Good luck and See you next year!"

Everyone rushed out of the stadium, almost trampling Ash and his group. Eventually they found their way to one of the pokemon centers and registered themselves as a team. They saw the second group and wished them luck before departing.

They traveled until they reached the fork that separated the way to Viridian and the way to Pewter, there they started to talk about their game plan,

"I was thinking that we should maybe put my idea for the mountians beyond Pewter on the back burner and think over the clue we were given. Those mountians aren't hidden or forgotten by time, they're a well known training site." Brock said before pulling out the piece of paper he had written the clue on. He read it out loud for everyone to hear and then they began to brainstorm,

"Agh! This is hard!" Iris finally said, frustrated.

"Hmmm. I think really, Ash, Misty, Gary, Brock, Ritchie, and maybe Paul are the only ones that would know Kanto well enough to figure out were this place could be," Max said shrugging.

"True. We have the most experience here since we've either lived here or traveled extensively here," Gary responded, "Hmmmm."

"Hey! Wait a minute! Ash do you remember that place you went to go train at near Pallet? It's where Bruno was training, you know the Elite Four member? Wasn't it called Mt. Hideaway?" Misty said suddenly.

"Yeah! Not many people go there since its pretty dangerous. It also is quite hidden and remote, hence the name," Brock added.

"You're a genius, Mist!" Ash said excitedly causing Misty to blush slightly.

"I think that's at least a good place to start," Ritchie said smiling.

"Better going somewhere than waiting around trying to figure it out," Drew said before flicking his hair.

"We just have to remember that we only have one year to get all six tokens. That's not as long as it seems given we don't know where each is and we have to go to six different countries." Paul said quickly. He seemed a bit uncomfortable still talking to everyone. He, after all, had never had others accompanying him as he traveled.

"Yeah. At least we won't be distracted by anything like official gyms or contests, so we will kinda just pass through most cities, right?" May added.

"Yeah. We can do this! We're team... Um. team..." Dawn stumbled, "What's our team name?"

"Oh Mew," Paul sighed.

"The Flames?" Chili said.

"No Team Aquarius," Cress sighed.

"Heh. Oh boy," Cilan said nervously.

"Oh! Adventurers of the Unknown?" May said sweetly.

"No! No stupid team name!" Drew said before composing himself, "We're a team. That's all that matters."

"So are we going to start heading towards Pallet or not?" Misty said breaking the conversation and shown standing on the road further down.

Finally they started walking together. Eventually they started passing the time with conversation about pokemon training and other relevant subjects. Ash asked everyone if they had caught any new pokemon. A few of them had caught new pokemon, but they weren't saying what kind. Ash understood since he also had been cryptic with his captures. Eventually they came close to the southern Viridian forest that connected to route one. They used a different path in order to by pass Viridian City itself. Brock suggested that they camp on the outskirts of the forest and travel through it tomorrow.

"Thank goodness," Misty said louder than she excepted causing most of the group to turn towards her questionably, "Um... I... uh..." What happened though took her and a couple others off guard.

"Misty, are you still afraid of bug pokemon?" Misty's initial reaction was to attack him, for making fun of her phobia, but she stopped herself when she realized he hadn't. No, his voice sounded as though he was... concerned for her. Ash stared at her with a mixture of concern and understanding. Misty couldn't help what she said next, she had no ammo. Normally Ash or whoever would have made fun and she'd attack them, but now she was stuck and the only thing that came out of her mouth was a quiet and sad,

"Yeah..." Her face was hidden slightly by her bangs, waiting for someone to say something mean, maybe Paul or Drew, she wasn't sure. No one got the chance to though before Ash spoke again,

"Don't worry Misty. It's okay, we're all afraid of something." _I wonder what Ash fears? _She tried hard to think_, sure it had somewhat been revealed that he feared becoming his father, but that had been from Gary's mind not Ash's mouth._ She heard him speak again,

"Tomorrow when we walk through the forest, I can send some aura bursts out and make the pokemon stay away until we're out of the forest. How does that sound?" Ash said smiling.

"You... you can do that?" Misty asked looking at him like she was a deerling in headlights.

"Yeah I can. I remember the first time we when through this forest. You almost smothered me trying to avoid everything, you even hurt Butterfree's feelings." Ash said adding a little sly grin at the end, _He loved making her mad. With the years he had known her, he was getting better at knowing how far he could go until she hurt him. Why do I like making her mad though? Did he like seeing her passion?_

Misty growled before smiling, "Oh yeah, well at least I didn't try to catch a pokemon without weakening it first, Mr. Pokemon Master-Wannabe!" She knew where this conversation was heading, fast.

"Did not!" Ash knew that wasn't true, but something in him wanted to argue with her, he hadn't done it in such a long time...

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Hmph," Gary finally said walking past them heading for the nearby clearing that they had designated to sleep in, "Now I see why you were always a badge behind me, Ashy-Boy. You were too busy arguing with your girlfriend." Gary turned around to see Ash's face but only saw him staring back with a paled complexion and a horrified expression. His gaze shifted towards Misty and he froze. Misty's face was red, she had whipped her mallet out and was boring holes in his face with her eyes,

"Run. Oak," Misty said creepily but with calmness. That he did. Misty took off after him within minutes.

"Run, Gary, Run!" Ash yelled after his friend and rival. Sure he was mad at him for teasing him, but he believed almost no one deserved the wrath of Misty with her mallet.

"Should we be concerned?" Cress asked looking at everyone else. They all faced Brock when he sighed. His hand was over his face and then a smile creeped onto his features,

"Just like old times," Some in the group smiled. The idea that this group could build a bond between all members, had started sinking into most, while only beginning to seed itself in others.

"Mumphhh," They could all see Gary's form face first in the ground as Misty came marching back over to the group.

"He's sleeping there tonight," Misty said before finally bringing a sly smile to her face.

Eventually they set up their temporary camp. They gathered around to eat,

"Wow guys! No wonder you had so much energy May! This food would make even a Slugma feel like it could sprint a mile," Drew said with a slight grin.

"I must agree," Paul said respectfully and everyone else nodded happily.

"Yep! Brock and Cilan, Chili, and Cress are definitely the best!" Ash said with a stupid grin.

"Thanks guys I appreciate it," Brock smiled and the Striation brothers added their thanks.

"Sniff. sniff."

"What's the matter, Max?" Ash asked seeing Max look like he was going to cry.

"It's just... I forgot how much I missed Brock's food!" Max yelled out.

"Oh Max," May said rolling her eyes. Seeing her do that caused Drew to blush slightly.

"*yawn* I'm bushed I think I'm going to hit the hay," Ash said suddenly. He got up to go get ready for bed, many of the group followed him. It was awkward at first to say the least, trying to figure out where everyone was going to sleep. Some were used to group travel while others were not. Did they all want to sleep near each other or separate? Eventually they all ended up sleeping sorta near each other, in a weird oval shape. Some of them were happy being near their friends again and others were pleasantly surprised by the comfort of being in a group like this. Suddenly a voice rang out,

"Good night guys!" Ash said in a friendly voice. Misty, Brock, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Cress, and Ritchie all answered with similar phrases.

"Night Ashy-Boy," Gary said with a smirk after he had addressed everyone else.

"Shut-up, Gary," Ash replied.

Drew murmured something like, "yeah you guys too", but it was hard to hear.

Paul made a grunt and Chili's voice rose above everyone's at the end,

"I still can't believe you guys are sleepy!"

"We have a lot of traveling tomorrow, Chili. Go on to sleep, brother," Cress said.

"Cress is right, Chili," Cilan leaned up out of his sleeping bag to look at his fiery spirited brother, "Time for some good rest."

"Awww. Okay then," Chili said before he plopped down into his sleeping bag.

Finally silence ensued and sleep fell on the group.

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Everyone had woken up and started eating breakfast, Dawn of course took quite sometime to fix her hair. Meanwhile Misty was mad,

"Where's Ash?" she asked getting only shrugs from most of the people eating, "I'm going to kill that boy. How does he just disappear like that? I swear he'll come running with something chasing him, trying to maul him," She was fuming a bit at this point. _Why did he always get her so riled up? She griped at him so often... was it necessary? Shouldn't she let up on him? Maybe it was just that she didn't want him hurt..._

Suddenly they all caught the sight of an arm reach out and grab Ash's backpack from the bushes. Some of them looked creeped out others were just shocked unable to move.

"The hell was that?" Drew asked.

"Ah! It could be a monster!" Max said with fright.

"Please," Paul replied rolling his eyes.

"I doubt it's something like a monster, Max. Such things don't exist," Cilan pointed out, being skeptical as always.

"Cilan. Don't start that again," Iris said, "We've been through this, remember?"

"Hey well I don't think it matters cause Misty's going after it," Chili said pointing at the red-head heading in the direction of the forest's edge.

Everyone stared at the woods and Misty as she left, some still munching on their food.

"Should we be worried?" Dawn asked no one in particular.

"I think Misty can handle herself," Brock said. Gary self-consciously rubbed his still sore head.

As Misty disappeared behind the shrubs on the edge of the forest, the group heard a shriek of surprise. Most rose and clutched a pokeball.

Misty came running out with a furious blush.

"Misty! What happened? Are you okay?" Ritchie rattled off quickly.

Before she could answer, Ash came lumbering out of the woods. He had sticks in his hair and dirt on his shirt. He was holding a second shirt that looked wet. Pikachu followed close behind.

"Ash? What happened?" Max asked him since Misty was still looking away and silent.

Ash looked from Misty to the group then, "I have no clue. I went to train my aura in the forest this morning with Lucario and Pikachu. I had finished and was coming to change my shirt because it had gotten drenched from me sweating. I grabbed my backpack and I had just about to put on my second shirt, when Misty decides to come crashing through and then she must not have seen me there or something because she tripped over me and landed on top of me. I had my clean shirt in the my hand too, so now I look like this." Ash finished his story before opening up his arms to show everyone the dirt on his clothes.

Most of the group look at each other, now understanding why Misty had come out of there like a madwoman. They then started planning out their route through the forest, Misty finally came over, but she wasn't listening to them talk she was too busy replaying what had happened in her head,

_She stomped off angrily towards the bushes. If Ash hadn't disappeared this morning then _**_he _**_could have been here to get _**_his_**_ backpack back. She got to the forest's fringe and entered. It wasn't two seconds before she found herself falling down from tripping on a tree root. Then she realized she was on someone. Her brain registered everything in blinding speed, but the world seemed to slow down. She was on top of Ash. His shirt was quite sweaty and damp. He was face down at first until he twisted his head to look at her from the side. His brown eyes were confused. His raven hair was disheveled and it stuck up cutely on the nape of his neck. He was quite handsome, for being that little runt from Pallet. She could actually feel the muscle of his back through his shirt. Had he been working on that?... Suddenly her mind jumped out of her daydream and remembering the last time she had fallen on him, she shrieked before fleeing into the meadow, blushing._

"And then after a quick stop in Pallet town, we'll be close enough to reach Mt. Hideaway" Brock finished pointing to the map he was holding so everyone unfamiliar with Kanto could see how far they were from their destination. They started moving through the forest. It was mostly quiet then,

"Okay I'm going to send out my bursts to ward away some of the bug pokemon I sense up ahead," Ash informed the group.

"BUGS!?" Misty yelled before jumping up on the closest thing to her, Ash.

Ash grumbled and stumbled a bit with the sudden added weight before righting himself, "Geez Misty. Give me a warning next time you decide to climb on top of me. I could've dropped you hard," Ash said. Misty blushed when he didn't mention anything about her getting off. Eventually she realized he was holding her under her legs and she had her arms around his neck. Ash being Ash didn't see that him carrying her like this wasn't normal, friend behavior. Then again, Ash wasn't a normal friend in any way. Before she could tell him he could put her down he spoke again,

"Okay here I go," Ash said. She felt him take a long deep even breath and then, warmth filled her body. It started in her chest that was near his chest and then fed to the rest of her. The others noticed that it got a tad warmer and there seemed to be an ever so slight blue hue around them. Everyone seemed to feel a little more peaceful with the aura around them. Misty suddenly found herself getting very sleepy. The warmth of his aura and him... It was soothing to her, she felt safe. She couldn't help but start to take deeper breaths that inevitably brought his scent into her nose making it even harder to stay awake. She tried to fight it, it didn't help that she hadn't slept well last night because of their proximity to the dreaded bug forest as Misty called it, and though she tried to voice a sentence, the only thing that escaped before she fell asleep in his arms was,

"Ash..." She thought she felt something pulse in her heart before she lost consciousness.

Ash was blushing and was glad he was at the front of the group so no one could see. He too had felt the pulse in his heart, though he had been practicing for a year with aura, he still didn't understand the odds and ends of everything... Maybe it had something to do with them being such close friends... There was one other thing that was on his mind though, his energy level. He had promised Misty that he could keep the bugs away. If he had been sitting still... He could have kept his small bursts up for hours, but he had forgotten to take into account the excursion of walking and wasn't planning on carrying Misty, not that he minded. He felt like his chest was starting to burn a bit once they were a mile away from exiting the forest, but then he looked down at the sleeping Misty... It made him smile and caused something to stir in his chest again... Some energy returned to him. By the time they were just about an eighth of a mile from exiting the forest he gave a loud grunt to the group. They stopped, wondering why he grunted at them to stop instead of talking. The truth was he didn't have the energy to talk as well as lay Misty down without dropping her.

"Hey big guy, you alright?" Brock asked feeling something was up.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked from the ground. He had walked most of the way after Misty had leapt up onto Ash. Pikachu's face looked uneasy, he could feel his friend's energy getting low.

Ash laid Misty on the ground and then fell to one knee. He rolled over onto his back, after shuffling off his backpack. Pikachu jumped into action. He ran over the backpack and started to dig through it.

"Ash?" May asked suddenly worried. Everyone gathered nearer and could hear Ash breathing a bit shallowly. Misty then woke up after the warmth of Ash and his aura had faded,

"Wha... huh?" Misty looked up and around then her eyes locked on Ash, "Ash? Ash are you okay?" About that time Pikachu came out of Ash's backpack holding some kind of rectangular object. He waddled over to Ash and crawled up his chest. He then pushed the rectangular object partway into Ash's mouth but couldn't make him chew. Pikachu motioned to Brock what to do

"Oh you need him to eat it?" Brock said moving forward and assisting his friend to chew the bar, suddenly

"Blegh! Mmm?" Ash seemed to suddenly get recharged. He stared at the bar in his mouth at first before taking it out and chewing what he had already bitten off. Finally he had the energy to talk again.

"Sorry guys I kinda used too much aura energy," Ash replied before taking a bite of the bar again

"But Ash, I thought you said doing that through the forest would be no problem," Misty said unable to hide the worry in her voice. Ash swallowed and looked at her,

"Oh well yeah... I forgot to take into account the excursion of walking and carrying you. Drained it quicker than I thought, but hey I almost made it through the whole forest anyways! I did better than I should've!" Ash said before swallowing the last of the bar he had been eating

"What are you eating there Ash?" Iris asked curiously.

"Oh. Yeah, Master Riley gave me these things. There made of like dried berries that help replenish energy and they're actually really great on aura users, sadly most of the berries in them are quite bitter tasting, but it doesn't bother me too much since it makes me feel real good after eating one. Oh and Thanks Pikachu, Brock for getting me to eat this. I would have probably had to lay here for a few hours before I could even walk."

"Pika chu Pi PikaPi!" Pikachu welcomed Ash and Brock did as well.

Ash jumped up and stretched a tiny bit before reaching down for Pikachu and his backpack. Then he reached a hand to Misty who was still on the ground,

"We're almost out of here. Let's go, there shouldn't be anymore bugs." Ash said with a smile

"You didn't have to carry me you know," Misty said looking at him, "You shouldn't over work yourself like that."

"Hey no need to worry! That's not my first time, besides it helps me build my endurance. It actually made me stronger Mist." Ash said smiling, then suddenly a Weedle fell from the tree and landed on Misty. At first there was silence everyone just stared at Misty and the Weedle, as did Misty, then

"AAAAHHHHH!" Misty screamed jumping up and onto Ash, again. The Weedle rolled onto the ground, "I thought you said there weren't anymore bugs, Ash!"

"Sorry Mist, My aura vision is real blurry cause my energy is still low," Ash said.

"A Weedle, huh?" Max said with a gleam in his eye, "I wanna catch it!"

Gary smiled at the young trainer's enthusiasm, "Go for it Max. I'd be a great addition to your team, especially if it becomes a Beedrill."

Everyone nodded giving Max encouraging words, Paul might have murmured something about why someone would want a weedle of all things but was unheard by everyone, except maybe Dawn who gave him a sad and curious look without him noticing. Misty on the other hand was adamantly opposed to having another bug in their ranks. Finally Max walked up to face the Weedle,

"Okay! Go Poochyena!" Max said excitedly, preparing for battle.

"Pooch!" His pokemon said before squaring up to the Weedle.

"Poochyena, use Crunch!" Max commanded. The pokemon ran forward and chomped down hard on the small worm pokemon. It screeched and fell to the ground, "Finish up with tackle!" Poochyena ran forward and hit the pokemon sending it flying into a tree, the sudden impact caused the unconscious Weedle to spit out some poison sting. The poison sting started heading towards Max. Drew saw the worried look on May's face and bolted. He tackled Max as the poison sting flew over harmlessly.

"Max! Drew!" May yelled out, scared.

"You guys alright?" Ash asked still with Misty in top of him

"Yeah. How about you, Max?" Drew asked rolling off the boy.

"I think so. Thanks Drew, I had no idea that was coming," Max said with a bit of embarrassment.

"Thanks Drew!" May said before hugging him tight. Drew blushed when she hugged him.

"Um. Max?" Gary asked, "As glad as I am everything's okay now, your Weedle is getting away," Gary pointed towards the tree to show the pokemon inching away.

"Ah!" Max said before grabbing a spare pokeball, "Go, pokeball!" The pokeball connected and Weedle went inside. The ball shook three times before a 'ding' was heard. Max picked up the pokeball, "I caught a Weedle!" He said with a grin and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Awesome!" Dawn said clasping her hands.

"Great job," Ritchie said with a smile.

They finally got themselves together and reached the outskirts of the forest and the beginning of route one. Ash stepped out onto the path. He took a deep breath of air.

"A lot of memories here, huh Pikachu?" Ash asked looking at his partner on his shoulder.

"Chu pika cha!" Pikachu smiled happily.

"Like what, Ash?" Cress asked. Most everyone else knew the answer except perhaps Cress, Chili, Drew, Paul and Ritchie.

"Well, Cress. This was the route I started my journey on. The place me and Pikachu became best buds and where I met one of my best friends," Ash answered.

"Which friend? Caterpie?" Misty said with a bit of anger. In her mind Ash was still a one track-minded person. That's why when he started laughing she became confused

"HA ha ha!" Ash laughed

"What's so funny Ketchum?" Misty said, slowly starting to reach for her mallet

"Butterfree is a good friend, but not the friend I was talking about," Ash said turning to look at her.

"Who...?" Misty said seemingly freezing.

"Well you Mist, duh. You fished me out of the river! If that isn't a memorable way to meet a life-long friend then I don't know what is," Ash said with a grin.

"Oh. Yeah. I knew that," Misty said trying to fix her mistake, luckily she was saved by Brock.

"Okay everyone, just down this path and we'll be in Pallet. We should get there by nightfall," Brock informed the group.

"We can all stay at the lab. I doubt Ashy-Boy's house could fit us all," Gary said with a sly grin

"Are you going to call me that through this whole trip?" Ash said with a ticked look on his face

"Of course. Just like old times, right?" Gary said with a wink as he continued walking. Everyone soon followed suit, Ash grumbling.

Eventually they did make it to Pallet. Over-looking the hill everyone took in the sight of the small hamlet.

"Awesome," Ash breathed and then started to run.

"The hell?" Paul said as he saw Ash take off.

"Typical Ash behavior!" Dawn's voice rang out as she, May, Max, Brock, Misty, Iris, Gary, and Cilan followed by his brothers started to run as well. Paul, Drew, and Ritchie then had to take off awkwardly in order to catch up.

"Hey guys!" Ash yelled back, "Go on to the lab! Ima go tell mom we're in town and staying at the lab for a couple nights!" The group nodded and finally slowed down and turned towards the lab with Gary leading the way. The finally made it to the lab and entered,

"Hello everyone! Glad to see you," Professor Oak greeted.

"Hello," Tracey said with a wave.

"Hey gramps, Tracey. We were thinking of crashing here for a couple days. Mrs. Ketchum's house I don't think could hold 14 of us," Gary said. Ash then came in with his mother tagging behind. Introductions were made to everyone and then they talked,

"It's so nice to see all of you traveling together! Makes me feel better about all of your safety. Strength in numbers you know," Delilah said with sweet smile, "I was so nervous while Ash was traveling on his own last year, but I was confident he'd be fine since he's grown so much since he started his journey."

"Heh, thanks mom." Ash replying rubbing his head nervously.

They got their bags and gear into the various rooms of the lab and then they started to relax and find things to do. Oak and Tracey left to study something down in the lab basement and Delilah left to do some errands so she could help the boys to cook dinner later. Ash started heading towards the back field and Max saw and spoke up,

"Hey where're you going Ash?" Max asked.

"Out back to check on the rest of my Tauros. I left three or so in the Tree of beginning but decided the rest would be happier here. I also wanted to train some with Zorua, since she's my newest pokemon and aura link," Ash replied.

"Can I come? I wanna train Weedle some!" Max said excitedly.

"Yeah, sure Max!" Ash replied with a grin and Pikachu copied him.

"I'm coming too. I have a pokemon I need to work with," Misty said.

"Awesome! Let's go!" Ash replied and soon they disappeared outside. Everyone else was sitting around talking or doing their own thing when suddenly Drew turned to Brock,

"Okay... You've got to tell me, What is the deal with Ash and Misty? Are they an item or aren't they?" Drew asked bluntly causing most everyone to turn to him and Brock. Brock paused for a moment before he sighed a ran a hand through his hair,

"It's complicated. You see I've always noticed that they really cared about each other from the moment I started to travel with them. Back then I wasn't surprised that they would react negatively when I'd tease them about being love birds, they were 10 after all. Then there was the time we had to go are separate ways for a while after the Silver conference. Misty's sisters had decided to go on a world tour and that forced her to have to return home. I could tell it tore her up, but Misty's always has had to carry the Cerulean gym on her back since her sisters aren't really the responsible type. I could tell even if Misty didn't want to acknowledge it and Ash didn't understand it, that they would really miss each other. There were times were I could tell Misty tried to give Ash hints about her feelings, which I know must've taken a lot from her, but Ash is really dense when it comes to matters of love. He cares about everyone so much that he seems to have some trouble in realizing that Misty's clues aren't just friendly gestures. Then of course after Ash travelled through the Battle Frontier, there was a three year gap that they didn't really see each other except over the video phone. There were times when I'd think I was wrong about Ash's interest in her, once I started to travel through Hoenn and Sinnoh with him. I thought maybe he had gotten over Misty, not as a friend but that tiny part of him that knew something was different about her, but I realized I was still right because of a few of things that happened."

"Wait! I just remembered! When me and Ash went fishing that time, he used a lure! That lure looked just like Misty! She's the lure girl!" Dawn said excitedly.

"Exactly Dawn. Ash wouldn't let you use that lure and when Buizel stole it he flipped out. Now it can be hard to tell the difference between Ash doing something for a friend and Ash doing something for something greater, but I could tell. He may not have understood why but he felt truly upset without that lure," Brock said.

"Hey... Brock?" May asked

"Yeah, May?" Brock replied

"There's something I remembered. Do you remember Jirachi and that adventure we had?" May began.

"Yes I do," Brock answered. He gave a brief outline of their tale to everyone else and then turned to hear what May had to say.

"Well Max got real upset at me on the last night of the millennium comet. He didn't want to have to say goodbye to Jirachi and I had been counting down the days on the wish pendant. He stormed off and before I could go anywhere... Ash stopped me. He said he would go talk to Max. At first I waited after he left, then I came up on them talking... I heard him say that it's hard to say goodbye to friends and that he's had to do it a bunch of times. He said there was a friend he had to say goodbye to and that he thought about her almost everyday... He eventually told Max that though friends may leave they are always in your heart, they never really go anywhere," May finished.

"Wow... Saying something like that? Maybe Ash isn't as much of a little kid as I thought." Iris said and leaned her head onto her hand. An amused smile crossed her face.

"Do you think...? Do you think that the friend he was talking about, was Misty?" May said finally looking up at Brock.

"I can imagine you're right," Brock said with a smile before continuing, "It's things like that... Things like him getting so happy when Misty visited us while we where traveling with you and Max, that makes me more confidant in the fact that they care more about each other than just friends. The other thing is that Misty balances Ash and vice versa. They make a good team and they drive each other to be their best. They point out each others flaws when they argue and besides me and Gary, Misty has known Ash the longest. The problem is, Ash doesn't seem to get romance or at least the signs. Why? I've never really figured it out. As for Misty, she seems to not want to make a move because she's scared. She may act frightening and tough on the outside, but once you get to know her she really is just trying to protect herself because she's quite a sensitive person."

"How odd, they really are quite an interesting combination aren't they?" Cress said.

"Yeah. They are," Brock said simply, "So in answer to your question Drew, they are and they aren't. Sorry it isn't clearer than that."

"I see," Drew said holding his chin.

"Should we try to help them?" Ritchie said suddenly, grabbing the attention of the room.

"Help, them?" Cilan asked. The girls glanced at each other.

"You mean like help make Ash somehow more aware?" Iris asked.

"Hmmm. I don't know if there is anything we can do for them. Misty won't say anything until she knows he understands, and Ash is a conundrum and I don't know what we could do to make him understand." Brock answered. Almost everyone sighed a bit, feeling bad for their two friends.

"You know... Ash might not think anyone would want him," Gary said after a moment getting the room's attention.

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"Well, Ash has always been a bit self-conscious, especially after, you know, his father left him," Gary said.

"But, Ash? Self-Conscious? He's so outgoing and confident in almost everything he does! He cares so much about others and he's not bad looking either. Just saying," Dawn said as she listed some of Ash's strong points.

"Do you honestly think that Misty is the only person that can make a facade? I mean he did hide from all of you the pain of his father leaving," Gary said causing everyone to look sad and nod, "I know Ash. He's out-going sure, but for starters he was quite shy when we were kids. He didn't like playing with large groups of people. Ash being Ash he'd mess up whatever game we were playing by tripping or something. The other kids would get angry but I always felt they were being hard on him. Some times I was suspicious of them even bullying him when no one was around. They didn't bully me since my parents had died, but with Ash... I don't know, they could've said a lot of mean things about his father not wanting him or something. I know... I know later on I didn't exactly help him build any confidence with my teasing... The point is that when he has someone, like Misty, Brock, May, Max, any of you cheering for him, counting on him, believing in him, he's good and even almost impossible to conquer in battle... or really anything else, but when he fights alone he starts to doubt himself. I mean I could be putting more into this than I should, but maybe Ash doesn't feel he's worth it, that he's good enough for anyone, especially someone like Misty who is one of his best friends and a gym leader. Maybe he thinks Misty's efforts aren't really meant for him, maybe he doubts himself about that sort of thing so much, that he really thinks that her clues couldn't possibly be for what he knows they are. All the other times when others were in love and he acted dense he might have been just being dense. The things I'm saying shouldn't mean Ash isn't still the densest person in the universe, just that once it got to the point were Ash just had to realize what was happening, his feeling of being self-conscious blinded him," Gary finished his explanation looking finally at everyone, "Like I said it's just a theory."

Everyone was silent until, "Well... how could we make Ash feel more confident?" Chili asked, even he was interested in this slow paced conversation and helping his brother's friend and now his own friend.

"We get Misty to spill," Paul said surprisingly. Everyone turned to him.

"You mean...?" Drew asked.

"Get her to spell it out for him. Then he can't refuse. Sure Misty will have to take the risk of him breaking her heart, but she has to decide if he's worth it," Paul replied.

"Wow Paul, I didn't think you'd really be the match-making type," Dawn said with a little smile.

"Hmph. I'm not. I'm the no nonsense kind of type," Paul replied with an added grunt.

"Misty won't do that. She cares too much about their friendship to risk that," May said.

"Whatever. I don't know what she cares more about, all I can say is that she has to make a choice, because if Ash is that self-conscious then he'll never see," Paul answered seemingly looking off as if thinking of something.

"...Maybe... Maybe something will happen that will make her realize she can't wait forever to tell him," Iris spoke, "Just a feeling I suppose." Cilan sighed and shook his head at Iris's 'feeling' which only got him a glare from her.

"Well... We will be there for them, to help them. We're a team and more importantly we're friends now, so we have to be there for them," May said finally. Everyone nodded and was silent for a while, until they started up other conversations.

zzzzzzzzzzz-Outside with Ash, Misty, and Max-zzzzzzzzzzzz

"Use Slash, Zorua!" Ash said with a smile.

**Yay! Slash Attack go!** Zorua attacked Max's Weedle and it fainted.

"Nice work Zorua!" Ash said with a smile.

**Thanks Ash!**

Max walked up to Weedle who had woken back up, "Thanks Weedle you did an awesome job! You got a few attacks in on Ash's Zorua!" Max said, hugging the worm carefully.

"Wee dle dle wee!" It cooed happily.

"Yeah! Great job Weedle, you were a good opponent," Ash said approaching as well.

**Yeah! No doubt! That Bug bite was a tough one to take.**

"Thanks Ash, Zorua." Max said smiling, then he noticed Ash staring at Weedle, "What's wrong Ash?" Ash smiled,

"I'm not too sure, since my aura energy is low still, but I think Weedle wants to evolve."

Max looked down at Weedle, "Whoa is that true, Weedle?"

"Wee dle wee!" It cried happily before being engulfed in a white light. After a moment Max realized he was now holding a Kakuna.

"Wow! You evolved Kakuna, that's so great!" Max said happily.

"Ka una ka!" It smiled the best it could.

"Now, Max," Ash said carefully.

"Yeah?" Max said looking at his friend and mentor.

"You have to really watch Kakuna closely for a while until it evolves again. It's kinda needy in this state. You understand?" Ash said smiling, he knew from experience via his Butterfree how this worked.

"Yeah! I'll watch after him!" Max grinned and nodded then, "I'm gonna go tell the others and show May!" Ash nodded and Max took off towards the lab with Kakuna in his arms. Ash then returned Zorua after thanking her. _I need to still practice aura with her... Maybe tonight before bed I can try something... Or at least let Lucario practice with her since my energy is still low... Hmmm where's Misty? _Ash looked around and remembered that she said she was going to work with one of her new pokemon. He started walking towards the hidden lake in the field with Pikachu on his shoulder. Finally he came to the lake and heard her voice,

"Feebas! Come on, you can do it! Just flip in the air!"

Ash looked through the remaining brush that was hiding him and saw her. She was standing near the bank. She was wearing a yellow shirt and long blue skinny jeans today. Her hair was down, a rare occurrence, and glistening from some droplets of water that had fallen on her head. He could see the passion in her eyes as she continued shouting commands to her pokemon. He sighed to himself, _she's really grown and looks so... Ack! Ash what are you doing!? She's your friend!_ He sighed once more, _Do I really like her? She was there with me when I started... She's never given up on me... Three years she traveled with me... It was really fun reconnecting last year after so long... I really have missed her more than anyone else... I wonder if that's why? but... She said so herself that she protected me from Team Rocket because we were best friends, not more... sigh... She would've said something to me by now if she wanted to be more than my friend... After all the calls we've made to each other on my journey's... She can trust me with anything and she knows that so... I guess... Besides what could I possibly give her?_ Ash stopped his thoughts before walking out to her and placing a hand on her shoulder, before he knew it he was on the ground, butt up, face planted from a powerful mallet smack.

"Ash! What were you thinking walking up behind me like that! I would say sorry for smacking you but you kinda did sneak up behind me," Misty said helping him up.

"Yeah sorry Mist," Ash said rubbing his head and then looking at the Feebas that stared at him blankly, "Um... Is that one of your new pokemon Mist?"

"Oh, yeah. I've really been trying to get her to evolve, but she just won't. Feebas evolve when they are beautiful beyond compare, but I don't really know what else to do. I've tried everything," Misty finished exasperated.

"Hmmm. It seems as though Feebas _is _ready at least energy-wise to evolve from what I can feel... but it seems to not want to," Ash said finally.

"Oh... Well I guess that's okay... If it doesn't want to evolve I won't make it, but I was really wanting a Milotic," Misty said sadly. Ash saw the sadness in her face and wanted to help her so badly he almost couldn't stand it. _Stop it Ash... It's no use to feel that way. You're... you're just sad for your friend... and maybe hungry. _Finally Ash spoke,

"Well maybe Pikachu could check and see why she doesn't want to evolve, maybe she has made her own conditions for evolution, like Espeon did."

"Oh! That would be great Ash," Misty said with a bit a happiness returning.

Ash nodded to Pikachu who then he went to work, moments later, Pikachu came back and spoke to Ash,

"Pika pika chu chu chu cha pi pika chu pi!" Pikachu spoke making big sweeping motions.

"Hmmm. I see. Did she explain what she wanted specifically?" Ash asked.

Misty was watching him commune with Pikachu with a smile on her face. She loved how connected to his pokemon Ash was, and none so much more than with Pikachu. She had heard Ash's stories about a boy named N that could speak with pokemon by hearing their hearts, but Misty wasn't impressed, if anything Ash being able to commune with Pikachu this way showed he had an even deeper connection with his pokemon than N did. Knowing what someone is thinking, feeling, explaining, without being able to talk with them... That was what Ash could do with Pikachu... _What about me? How well can he read me? I wonder if he can tell I'm hiding my feelings about him from him? Did he already know me so much that he trusted I would tell him anything...? Was he waiting for me to act? _Misty shook her head, _What are you thinking... this is Ash again we are talking about... _Misty stopped her thoughts when she noticed he had turned to face her,

"Well Pikachu kinda figured out what's wrong," Ash said.

"Yeah, what's up?" Misty asked.

"Apparently Feebas feels she is already beautiful enough to evolve, she's happy with how well you've taken care of her and wants to become a Milotic, but she wants some inspiration," Ash replied.

"What kind of inspiration?" Misty asked.

"Well, she wants to witness something she deems beautiful. She wants to know what true beauty is since she knows its such an abstract concept. She doesn't know what she wants to see, but when she sees it, she'll know," Ash finished. Misty nodded and turned to Feebas,

"Well Feebas I understand, that's okay, I hope you see what it is you want to see and evolve when you want to," Misty said smiling.

"Do you want to return to the lab? Mom's probably back and will start making dinner soon," Ash said smiling, "I'm starving!"

"Yeah okay..." Misty returned Feebas and started to follow Ash and Pikachu when she stopped, "Hey... Ash?"

"Yeah?" Ash stopped and turned around.

"Could we go back in a minute? I want to talk to you about something," Misty said slowly. She half-expected him to complain about dinner and food, but was happy with his answer,

"Yeah... sure Misty, you okay?" Ash said as he came and sat by Misty on the edge of the lake.

"Yeah I'm fine I was just wanting to ask you a question," Misty stated.

"Yeah sure, anything Mist," Ash replied, waiting, Pikachu curled up next to him.

"Well... You know Pikachu really well, right? Like really really well. You can feel when he's sad, what he's trying to say, and stuff, right?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. Me and Pikachu are tight. Like brothers, right buddy?" Ash said and then scratched Pikachu behind the ear.

"Chaaaa!" Pikachu replied, pleased.

"Well... What about me?" Misty finally said.

"Huh?" Ash asked confused.

"Can you read me the same way?" Misty asked.

"..." Ash didn't respond at first.

"Well?" Misty said, getting a little ticked.

"Ha ha ha!" Ash suddenly laughed, surprising her.

"Huh?" Misty said.

"Yeah. I can Mist. I know you really well. See I knew I could make you mad like that if I was silent for a minute. You're one of my best and closest friends. I'd share anything with you and I know you'd share anything with me. We've got each others backs," Ash finished smiling

"But... you didn't tell me about your father," Misty replied, she didn't want to upset Ash, but she saw a hole in his story and wanted... no needed to know the answer.

"Oh... well..." Ash got silent for a moment.

"Ash... Is there something... something you want to tell... me?" Misty asked with hope. It increased when she saw him fighting a blush

"I..." Ash began.

"Yes Ash?" Misty said, feeling her heart rate skyrocket. She looked over at him and could see him thinking about... something... hard.

Ash was conflicted, _Is she trying to get me to say something? No... I can't threaten our friendship... Our happiness. _

"I'm... sorry," He said finally.

"suh... sorry?" Misty said, hope deflating in her chest.

"Yeah..." Ash said looking up, "For you know... not telling you about my father."

"Oh..." Misty said. She could see some sort of great sadness in his eyes that she hadn't ever seen before. She could tell he was unsuccessfully trying to hide it and that it wasn't sadness from his guilt of not telling her about his father... _What are you thinking about Ash Ketchum? _

"It's okay Ash..." Misty said.

"Thanks Mist," Ash replied.

Misty looked up towards the direction of the lab, _Oh well... Ash is still Ash..._ She spoke,

"Do you want to go back to the lab now? I'm sure they must be almost done with fixing dinner now," Misty said smiling brightly, trying to cheer Ash up and herself.

"Yeah!" Ash said excitedly wiping away some of the sadness in his face and waking up the sleeping Pikachu near him. They got up and started walking towards the lab together after settling down a grumpy Pikachu. Before they entered, Ash spoke,

"Hey Mist..." Ash started, _What the hell I'm I doing?!_

"Yeah?" Misty asked, _I wonder what he is going to say now?_

"I just wanted to tell you thanks, for being my friend... I don't think sometimes you realize how important your friendship is to me. You really helped me when I was a new trainer... You really had an impact on me as a person," Ash felt a blush start to run over his cheeks, "All you guys are everything to me." _Coward... Damn..._

Ash then walked inside not bothering to notice Misty standing still,_ I had that much of an impact on him? I thought... He was going to say... Maybe? But no... He added everyone else, even if it was at the end this time..._ Misty shook her head and walked inside and grabbed Ash's shoulder before they came into the dining room where everyone had started eating,

"Your welcome. You mean a lot to me too. You really inspired to me be the best gym leader I could be..." Misty said letting a blush cross her face, _Careful Misty you're entering the danger zone._

Ash looked at her a minute, _Why does she do this to me? Is she? No... Stop reaching for things beyond you, Ash. Your trying to become a Master though, that's beyond you and that's never stopped you before._ _Shut-up!_

"No problem, Mist." Ash said with a smile, snapping out of his internal argument. Misty smiled back and they entered the Dining room together...

zzzzzzzzz-Everyone in the dining room-zzzzzzzzzzz

Ash and Misty entered into a room of laughing people. Ash was surprised to see even Paul smiling. Everyone had been eating their meal, but were distracted when a bang had been heard from the kitchen. Apparently Chili, the dessert expert, had messed something up in his haste and the whole thing had exploded all over him. He was now standing in front of everyone with flour and some sort of chocolate dessert remnants on him. Everyone was laughing and Chili was sulking before he started laughing as well.

"Did you forget and put in too much yeast again, Chili?" Cilan asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. I think so. I was just so excited to get it done I forgot to slow down and think it through," Chili said rubbing the back of his head.

"It's no problem, sweetie. I bought some jelly filled donuts if anyone wants that for dessert," Delilah smiled.

"YES!" Ash yelled suddenly.

"Someone's excited," Drew said after wiping a tear away from his eye.

"You bet! Those kind of donuts are my favorite!" Ash said happily.

"Just don't eat too many... You remember what happened last time, right Ash?" Brock said pulling a sly smile with Misty following suit.

"Ummm. Oh... Ha ha ha Yeah..." Ash said sweat dropping.

"Geez Ash what happened?" Max asked.

"Yeah Ashy-Boy," Gary jumped in.

Everyone now had their eyes on Ash.

"Yeah... no problem, right Ash?" Misty said still smiling.

"Ummmm... Wait, No! I just ummm won't eat any," Ash replied.

"Oh come on Ash!" May said.

"It's just one donut Ash," Dawn said.

Ritchie exchanged glances with Cilan and they both shrugged. Everyone sat down and finished dinner seemingly forgetting about Ash's donut issue, then

"Here you go Ash," Iris said walking past and dropping a donut on his empty plate. Everyone then eyed him with smirks or sly smiles.

"Oh... Umm.. thanks but no thanks... Iris..." Ash said sweating and staring at the donut.

"Awwww..." May pouted.

Misty grinned at everyone and then she stuck her finger in the donut and pulled out some jelly on her finger. She stuck it in her mouth with a smile,

"Mmmmmm... Oh Ash... This batch is so good. Are you sure you don't want one?" Misty asked as she watched Ash who was staring at her and the donut

"Dang..." Ash tensed up and then grabbed the donut and started eating it. Misty then winked to the group and they gave thumbs up, except for Paul who shook his head.

_Five donuts later..._

They were all in awe as they saw Ash darting around the field this way and that. They didn't realize someone could get that hyper.

"We should go tonight guys! Hike right up that hill! Heck I think I could run up it! This trip is going to be great! You guys are great! Everything's great!" Ash spoke quickly as he dashed to and fro.

"Pika chu chu PikaPi," Pikachu murmured shaking his head.

"Oh Ashy," Delilah said, a bit upset.

"And this happened once before?" Drew asked Brock.

"Yes. He'll turn off after another few minutes," Brock said with an amused smile, "I still can't believe you tricked him into it, Misty."

"I think it's funny, watching him run around like that," Misty said with a smile.

"Ha ha ha! It is! Its like Ash on fast forward!" Max said, amused.

"I think we should..." Ash said before he fell face first into the ground, with a tired look in his eyes.

"Well I guess his sugar rush finally crashed," Ritchie replied.

"Yep. I'll get'em," Brock said before walking forward, "Would you mind helping me, Drew? He's not a ten year old anymore," Brock finished chuckling.

"Eh, no problem," Drew responded before stepping forward.

Before they could get close enough though, they saw his aura flare out. Everyone froze. It twisted around him and popped this way and that, it flowed like water then crackled like lightning. Then finally it curled around him like blue fire.

"Oh my! Is that aura?" Delilah said worriedly.

"Fascinating, simply fascinating!" Prof. Oak said.

"Crazy!" Tracey exclaimed and pulled out his sketch pad.

"Does it burn? Does it hurt?" Max asked everyone. Brock walked forward hesitantly and put a finger in the aura.

"Nope. At least I don't feel anything. It's just warm like bathwater. Hey Ash. It's okay we're gonna take you to bed, okay big guy?" Brock finished addressing Ash.

"Mmmmmmmk..." Ash mumbled and his aura started to retreat inwards.

"Chaa," Pikachu let out a breath.

With help from Drew, Brock carried Ash to his designated sleeping area and then most everyone else joined Ash in sleep.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**So we've travelled through a forest that bypasses Viridian and have made it to Pallet town! Will our heroes find the first token on Mt. Hideaway? If not, what will they find?**

**Stay tuned...**

**Lol I've always waited to say that XD**

**The donut thing I added in there because I thought it would be funny. As for my theory on Ash's denseness, in short I think he's scared about the topic of love and so he avoids trying to make assumptions about what people are feeling, whether directed towards him or not. Coupled with my head-cannon of Ash's father leaving him is the explanation here.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, a bit more action in the next two chapters or so.**

**Also, I'm going to post yet another poll. So here's the deal, we have two main teams, Ash's and the Secondary one. They will meet up from time to time and work together, etc. Originally I wanted Clemont and Serena to be in Ash's group too, but when I had started the story I hardly knew anything about their personalities, etc. Not only that, but fourteen people in a group is a lot and changing things up too much would be so confusing. Anyways they are important characters and so I want to do them enough justice. Here's the question(finally): Should I write little side-stories about the secondary group's travels to get the tokens? Keep in mind that I haven't written any of these previously so they might be published more sparsely or something. It has merely been an idea of mine since I started this project but I never really started on it.**

**Please let me know your opinions in the poll. Review, Fav, Follow, and most importantly Enjoy! :D**


	10. There and Back Again

**Okay another chapter up :D**

**Two things everyone both new and already following this story should know:**

**First, I've decided that I'm going to separate this story into different books, so once the Kanto Arc is done you will have to follow and find (unless I can provide a link at the end of the Kanto Arc) the next book and then the next, etc.**

**_The more you know... XD_**

**Second, I need everyone to vote on the poll I've set up on my profile.**

**I was just wandering how many people care about the Second group's story.**

**I might just make another shorter book with their story in it. Their chapters and such would be shorter and would most likely not be separated into books. There are some ships that are going to occur in the other group so that's mostly the reason I'm wondering if people wanted to hear their tale; I don't wanna just kinda be like, "Oh by the way these people ended up together," without you guys getting a chance to see how.**

**I think you guys get what I'm saying.**

**Anyways sorry to keep you, do please enjoy the chapter :)**

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless states otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

They ate breakfast and Ash grumbled at everyone, especially Misty for getting him to eat the donuts. Eventually Ash forgave them. They said goodbye to Prof. Oak, Tracey, and Mrs. Ketchum saying they'd be back tonight. Finally they packed up and set out towards Mt. Hideaway. They reached the foot of the mountain and began to climb.

"So... now that we are here, do we look for a person that will give us a token?" Chili asked as they ascended the mountain's trail.

"That's pretty much the plan," Drew replied.

"I guess they'd be at the top, huh?" Ash asked.

"Sounds logical," Cilan added.

After a while, they reached halfway up the mountain and decided to stop for an early lunch and break from climbing. As they were eating, they suddenly heard rumbling

"What's that?" Max asked looking around.

"This isn't a volcano, right?" Ritchie asked.

"No no! This is just a rock formation. That rumbling is either a stamped of pokemon or..." Gary said but didn't get to finish.

"Oh crud," Ash said and before anyone could ask what was wrong, they all fell into a massive pitfall trap.

Prepare for Trouble!

and Make it Double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth! That's Right!

"You seriously have got to be kidding me," Paul muttered. Everyone was moaning a bit since even though the pitfall trap was large, it still couldn't properly hold everyone without them being somewhat squashed together.

"Quiet! Purple-haired twerp!" Jessie yelled.

"Congratulations Paul, you've been initiated into the twerp club," Ash muttered.

"Ha! You can say that again!" James smiled.

"And now, for Pikachu!" Meowth said before launching a claw at Pikachu.

"I don't think so," Ash said as the claw came close. He put his arm out in front of Pikachu, where the claw was headed, and let it clamp on to his own arm. The device was made to automatically pull in after launching so the claw started to retract. Ash pushed off the ground and let it carry him up towards the Rockets.

"Hey twerp this ain't a kiddy ride! This is a pokemon stealing device!" Meowth growled as Ash landed in front of him.

"Irontail the claw and Thunderbolt them away!" Ash yelled. Pikachu jumped up and used Irontail on the part that connected the claw to the rest of the machine. Then it leapt up and shocked Team Rocket.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The three said, before disappearing.

"Okay. Ivysaur, Meganium, Serperior, go!" The three pokemon came out and went over to the hole to start lifting people out with vines. Once everyone got out, they came over to Ash to see how they could unclamp the claw still attached to his arm.

"Heh heh. I guess I didn't think this through as much as I thought," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head with his un-clawed arm.

"Gotta say it was awesome though," Max replied.

"Yeah like a superhero or something with a utility belt!" Chili exclaimed causing Cress to roll his eyes and Cilan to sigh and smile.

"Maybe we could use fire?" Dawn asked innocently.

"Yeah, let's roast his arm," Drew said and rolled his eyes.

"Oh right..." Dawn replied.

"Hmmm. Oh I know!" Gary said suddenly. He pulled out a pokeball and released a pokemon.

"Rooooootom!" The pokemon chirped.

"Hey is that the Rotom we helped the Professor catch?" Iris asked.

"You bet! I was hoping you guys wouldn't mind if we stopped by Sayda Island after we tried here to find a token. I needed to drop this guy off with some of the scientists. It shouldn't be too far out of the way, but for now, Rotom get in there and possess that claw and get it off Ash," Gary said. The pokemon obeyed and finally Ash was freed.

"Awesome," Ash said rubbing his arm.

"Well now we have a problem," Paul stated

"What's that?" May asked as everyone turned to see what Paul was referring to.

"The pathway is all wacky from Team Rocket's pitfall. It could be unstable," Brock observed.

"We'll just have to be real careful," Ash said. He recalled Meganium and Serperior and then made his way over to the edge.

"Ash. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Misty hissed.

"Of course not. I've got this," Ash said. He then balanced on the thin walkway and made his way over surprising most with his balancing ability, "There no problem. Hey Ivysaur, come on and jump across!" Ivysaur took a running leap and used it's Vine whip to make it over and stand next to Ash's side, "Okay make the walkway a tiny bit wider with some Vinewhips, Ivysaur."

"Saur!" The pokemon responded and made the walkway wider, eventually everyone made their way across except Dawn and Paul.

"I can't... It's too high up," Dawn said.

"You can do it Dawn!" May called.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Max smiled over.

Dawn shook her head then suddenly,

"EEk!"

Paul grabbed her and swept her up bridal style,

"Look at me and don't look down, got it?" Paul said quickly and gruffly.

"Oh... Okay." Dawn said as a blush crept on her face. Paul balanced across holding Dawn, then set her down once they were both over.

"Thanks Paul," Dawn said.

"Whatever, let's get moving. I don't want to have to cross that at night," Paul said. Everyone nodded and then moved onwards. Ash let Ivysaur walk with them, just incase he was needed again. As they were walking, Ash, Paul, and Drew were closest to the edge when suddenly,

_Crack! Crumble!_

"Shit!" was all Paul could yell out as the ground gave way under him.

"Paul!" Everyone yelled.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash said and dove for his hand. Ash grabbed Paul's hand as he dangled over the side, Drew and Gary moved in to help grab Paul's other hand. Before they could do much else, the ground gave way again. All four started to fall,

"Ivysaur!" Ash yelled as he felt his stomach start to rise in him.

"Saur!" The pokemon shot out it's Vinewhips and grabbed all four boys.

"Boys! Are you okay?" May asked.

"Yeah! We're good," Ash yelled up after checking the other three hanging with him, "Hey Ivysaur! Lower us down, there's a ledge below! I don't want you to strain with all four of us!"

They were placed on the ground and then Drew jogged around the edge,

"Hey! There's another pathway!"

"Saur!" Ivysaur then let down a couple Vinewhips and pressed against the ground and lowered itself to the ledge the boys were on.

"Okay! Ivysaur, you want to stay with us, Pikachu you stay with the rest of the group, okay?" Ash called out.

"Saur!"

"Pika!"

"We'll find our way up and meet you guys at the top, okay?" Gary called up.

"Alright! You guys be careful!" Brock called and waved, then started to lead the rest up the path.

zzzzzzzzzz-With Ash, Gary, Drew, and Paul-zzzzzzzzzz

"Thanks by the way. For helping me," Paul said suddenly as they walked along.

"Hey no sweat! You were gonna fall. I wasn't gonna not do anything," Ash looked over and smiled.

"Yeah. If I let one of my teammates die, I wouldn't be a very good team member, now would I?" Drew said and smirked.

"Yeah. I mean finding another teammate would be rough," Gary said with a sly smile.

"Lovely, That makes me feel so loved," Paul snorted.

They all then laughed some, even Paul seemed to think it was funny. Eventually They started to ascend more sharply and then had to sidle along the path. Ivysaur had barely enough room to walk. They then seemed to have reached the top of Mt. Hideaway

"Well it seems we've made it before the rest of the group," Gary spoke up once they entered a clearing.

"Yes it does seem that way," Paul added.

Ash spoke afterwards, "I guess we just wait here for them then, they can't be too far behind."

"Yeah," Drew replied.

"Saur," Ivysaur rested up next to Ash's leg and Ash reached down to pet him, "Thanks Ivysaur for all your help today! You've really pulled us out of trouble a few times!" Ash praised his friend, He then turned towards the woods, "That's weird."

"What?" Gary asked.

"I sense something in the bushes over there," Ash said as he walked closer to the edge of the small woods. Then they all heard a ferocious growl...

zzzzzzzzzzz-With the Rest of the Group-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"You think the boys are okay?" Dawn asked

Brock replied, "Yeah they're fine."

"I'm sure they're doing okay. They are probably already up top, waiting for us," Cilan added trying to help make Dawn not worry.

"Yeah! No need to worry, right?" Iris responded.

Max shifted nervously, "But what if they get eaten by some giant pokemon!?"

"MAX!" May yelled at her brother.

"They're fine, they have their pokemon and we have ours," Cress said trying to calm some of the group down.

"They will be fine. I'm sure of it," Misty said finally.

Ritchie spoke up soon after, "Yeah."

They continued up until they reached a plateau. They heard a shout and looked up...

zzzzzzzzzzz-Everyone on the Peak-zzzzzzzzzzz

A Nidoking burst out of the forest charging at Ash and the boys,

"Ah!" Ash yelped as he tried to turn around, only to fall backwards.

"Ash!" Gary yelled starting to pull out a pokeball, Paul and Drew joining him. They knew though that they wouldn't be quick enough... The Nidoking was practically on him.

"Ash!" "PikaPi!" Misty and Pikachu screamed out, the others looking on in worry, thinking they were about to possibly watch their friend die.

"Saur!" Ivysaur hollered in rage as it jumped over Ash and landed in front of him, glowing bright white before landing.

The Nidoking collided with a very strong and angry, Venusaur.

"Saur!" Venusaur growled angrily. It whipped out it's vines and grabbed the Nidoking lifting it and tossing it like a toy, towards the mountainside behind Ash and the group.

"Ivysaur, you evolved to save me!" Ash spoke looking into the eyes of one of his first pokemon, "Thank you."

"Saur!" It replied, before lumbering over in front of the group to watch the Nidoking that was now standing up and glaring at the group and Venusaur. Suddenly they heard a cry,

"Nido nido rino!" A Nidorino called from a perch above the Nidoking. It leapt down and it's tough blue skin caught the attention of the group.

"Whoa! Why is that Nidorino that color?" Ritchie asked.

"Isn't that normal?" Chili replied

"No, generally Nidoran females and their evolutionary tree up to Nidoqueen are of blue coloration. Nidoran males and their evolutionary tree up to Nidoking are supposed to be purple," Gary answered.

"He must be like my Noctowl and Rapidash. He must be a shiny pokemon," Ash stated. Then their attention was brought back to the two poison types as they suddenly collided.

The Nidorino used a powerful Take down, then followed up with a Earthpower.

"King!" The Nidoking groaned and landed on one knee. Meanwhile a bunch of Nidorina and Nidoran, male and female, appeared to be watching from afar.

The shiny Nidorino turned to look at his friends and started to walk back to them, then

"Graah!" Nidoking roared slamming a white glowing horn into Nidorino. It cried out in shock and pain and fell on the ground defeated

"What attack was that!? Nidorino's down for the count!" Iris exclaimed.

Paul answered her, "No doubt, That was the one-hit KO move, Horn drill."

"Oh no! Look!" May said making everyone look back at the battle. Nidoking was standing over Nidorino with a powerful Hammer arm ready to strike

"But Nidorino is already down!" Max said.

"I think that's not enough for Nidoking," Brock said solemnly.

Ash spoke up suddenly, "Well I can't watch that happen! Pokeball, go!"

The pokeball dinged immediately when it struck Nidorino, causing Nidoking to get confused when his target disappeared,

"Venusaur! Chase it away with your new Frenzy Plant attack!" Ash commanded.

"Saur!" Venusaur responded swiftly driving the poison and ground type over towards a pathway down the other side of the mountain. The large root-like vines blocked him from returning, and so it growled and lumbered away.

A Nidorina ran towards Ash as he went to pick up his new pokemon,

"Nid nido rina!" It growled at him until it locked eyes with Ash,

"He's your friend, isn't he?" Ash asked her.

"Rina..." It replied still staring at him.

"I'll go help him heal... Then I'll help bring him back to the base of the mountain so he can come back to you, okay?" Ash asked, Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder and nodded,

"Pika pika chu."

Nidorina stared at Ash for a long time, before nodding and turning back towards its group. Eventually they disappeared.

"So when we leave we're going to heal Nidorino and then release him?" Max asked walking up to Ash with the rest of the group,

"That's right Max," Ash said with a smile.

"Why? That Nidorino could be another powerhouse for your team, trust me I have a Nidoking," Paul asked.

"I don't add pokemon to my team if they really don't want to be with me. I want them to want to battle for me if they're going to battle," Ash answered, leaving Paul without an answer, suddenly they heard a voice,

"Hello! Who goes there?"

"Hello?" May asked.

A man suddenly jumped down from the rocky ledge landing in front of them, he looked familiar to three people in the group,

"Bruno!" Ash, Misty, and Brock said at the same time.

"Ah. It's Ash and friends. Good to see you all again after such a long time, and good to meet some new faces," Bruno replied.

They all began talking and explaining who they were and why they were up here.

"Well I'm sorry to tell you, but there is no token up here. Nice attempt though and good work getting up here," Bruno praised.

"Well it was a good try anyway," Max said.

Everyone nodded. Suddenly Bruno punched the place were Ash's face used to be, before he moved suddenly to avoid the hit,

"Hey! What was that for, Bruno!?" Misty yelled.

"Hmmmm. I see so you are indeed a user of aura," Bruno replied, getting shocked looks from everyone.

"How... How did you know?" Ash stammered.

"Well, for starters you dodged my attack without me telling you I was going to attack. Secondly us fighters know when we are in the presence of another fighter like ourselves. Aura is an ancient art of fighting and I study all types of fighting I can, whether I can ever perform them or not," Bruno answered, "I can see that you have been training yourself, which is good. One day perhaps you will be able to even defeat me in combat."

"Ra... Really?" Ash questioned, looking up and down the much larger man in front of him. Sure Ash had grown since their first meeting but the man still was much buffer and still quiet a bit taller.

"Size and strength aren't impervious to failure. You must know this is true from pokemon battles... It is the same with human fighting as well. My strength is worthless if I cannot hit my target," Bruno smiled.

"Yeah... Well I don't want to really learn how to fight. I've mostly just been working on concentration and perception," Ash said rubbing the back of his head.

"You might not have a choice," Bruno said simply.

"What do you mean?" Brock asked.

"I mean... Your friend has a gift that allows him a connection to pokemon and people that comes naturally to him instead of taught over time. People could want a power like that, evil people. They would want to figure out how to use your power to their own advantage and they will do whatever under-handed thing it takes to achieve that goal. You, your family, and your friends, could very well be in danger, and I know... You want to protect them, right Ash?" Bruno asked turning to Ash.

"...Of course... But I..." Ash began staring at the ground.

"I realize you aren't a violent young man and don't really wish to hurt anyone, even your greatest enemy... I don't wish to upset you with this, but I feel the need to explain this to you... You understand?" Bruno spoke.

"Yes sir, I do," Ash said looking up at Bruno.

"I'm sure everything will work out and you'll find your way of dealing with these things, and..." Bruno turned to face the rest of the group, "You have your friends' love and support to push you along when you need it."

"Right, Thanks Bruno, I'll think about what you said," Ash said smiling.

"Hmmm. It seems you need to be returning down the mountain if you don't want to spend the night here," Bruno told the group. They nodded and said goodbye before walking down the mountain. They got home when night fell and made sure Nidorino was healed. They told Prof. Oak, Tracey, and Ash's mom that they would be heading for Sayda Island tomorrow to drop off the Rotom Gary had. Ash practiced some aura with Pikachu, Lucario, and Zorua. After a while, everyone got ready for bed and separated into their rooms. Ash, Brock, Drew, and Paul were in the same room and they began having a conversation since all... or well most of the people in the room couldn't sleep.

"I still can't believe your Ivysaur evolved like that, Ash," Drew spoke staring at the ceiling.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ash asked, rolling over in his bed to look at Drew.

"I mean... It evolved to save you, right? I don't know, I suppose I've never seen a pokemon evolve outside of a battle before," Drew replied.

"Oh... Well... I can understand that. Venusaur is awesome though, he really saved me there," Ash explained.

"Your... All your pokemon really care about you don't they?" Drew asked.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried immediately.

"Yeah, no doubt. I care just as much about them too," Ash replied stroking Pikachu.

"Yeah. Venusaur was one of Ash's first pokemon, Its no wonder why he evolved to save Ash," Brock entered the conversation.

"He was?" Drew asked.

"Yep. He was the fourth pokemon I ever got," Ash replied.

"I see. That's cool," Drew responded, "Does... does... it really work to bond with your pokemon that way? Do they really try harder then? Does it feel... different?"

"Chaaaa! Pika chu pi pika chu Pi pika PikaPi!" Pikachu responded immediately and Drew stared at it, shocked.

"Ha ha! It seems Pikachu agrees with your idea and I do too," Ash responded.

"Yeah, definitely," Brock added.

"Well... I think you coddle your pokemon too much," Paul said gruffly from the other side of the room. He was facing away. They all thought he had fallen asleep.

"No way! Just because I care about them and like to do other things with them instead of just battle and train, doesn't mean I coddle them," Ash replied sharply.

"Hmph. I may have had to agree to your example at the Lilly of the Valley conference when you demonstrated that you need to at least respect pokemon more and commend them for battling... but I still think you treat them like babies," Paul answered, still facing away.

**Have you ever asked your pokemon or any pokemon of their opinion?**

Paul rolled over to face the others at the sound of a new voice. Ash was holding a pokeball and Lucario was standing next to his bed, the other two trainers watching.

"No I'm sure they would've refused to obey me if they were unhappy," Paul answered.

**Do you have any idea if your pokemon had ever met a human before? Has had a trainer? They may have no concept of the fact that trainers train in different ways.**

**An example being My Master's comrade, Charizard, deemed weak by one trainer, then developed into a quiet frighteningly powerful foe by another.**

"It doesn't matter then, they are strong from my work on training them. What you don't know can't hurt you," Paul said with a snort.

**But it does... You have an idea of things you find good, things that are pleasurable to you, correct?**

"Of course," Paul answered hesitantly.

**Do you know what being a part of a team is like?**

Paul said with a scowl, "Where is this going?"

**Patience... If you worked for a team, sports or otherwise, and you tried your hardest to do good but weren't appreciated, you would be sad right? Most likely not wanting to try to push yourself any harder.**

"Yes," Paul nodded, still reserved.

**What if you were supported and cared for? Would you enjoy and work harder to do the things that were required of you daily? For the sake of someone else rather than yourself?**

"..." Paul stared at Lucario for a long time.

"Look Paul, I'm not trying to change you, or force you into doing anything... I'm just trying to say you should try caring even more for your pokemon..." Ash said.

Paul sighed, "Fine. I'll think about it. Happy?"

Ash nodded and returned Lucario after thanking him and then Brock spoke,

"Okay guys. I think we need to go to bed. Lots of traveling tomorrow."

"Right, Night guys," Ash said before he rolled over with Pikachu curling near his chest. Everyone rolled over to go to sleep.

"Night."

"Night."

"..."

"I wonder if my pokemon would save me?" Drew asked no one in particular.

"I'm sure they would, Drew," Ash said with friendliness.

Finally they all fell asleep, except Paul. He laid awake for a moment thinking about the previous conversation, the last thought he had before he fell asleep was, _I'm sure my pokemon would protect me like that... Right?_

_zzzzzzzzzzzzz-_The next morning-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Alright. Nidorino's all healed up and you all are ready to hit the road once more! Greatest luck to you on your journey!" Prof Oak said to the group as he handed Ash the pokeball with Nidorino in it.

"Thank you Professor!" Ash said, while being copied by everyone in the group.

"Thanks Gramps for letting us stay here. I'll drop off Rotom as soon as we get to Sayda Island. I'll give you a call then," Gary said

"Thanks my boy and You're welcome., Prof. Oak said.

"Thanks Mrs. Ketchum for buying all the food!" May said smiling, again everyone else followed suit.

"Yeah thanks, mom!" Ash said after hugging her tightly.

They all began to walk down the hill from the lab,

"Bye! Good luck guys!" Tracey called out with Prof. Oak copying him.

"Be careful all of you! And Ash don't forget to change your..." Delilah began.

"I know, mom! I get it!" Ash cried out quickly blushing furiously from a few snickers in the group.

Eventually they made it to their first stop at the base of Mt. Hideaway, to release Nidorino.

"Alright, I release you, Nidorino!" Ash said as he tossed the pokeball.

The pokemon came out and looked around. It growled at Ash when he bent down,

"Hey you're free to go now. I'm sorry I had to catch you like that, I just didn't want to see you get pounded into the ground. Your friend Nidorina is waiting for you, go on," Ash said with a smile and stood up.

Nidorino stared at Ash for a long moment then, "Nido. nido rino. rino nido rino."

"Ummm. Pikachu?" Ash asked looking at his friend on his shoulder.

"Chu," Pikachu said happily before walking over to the Nidorino. They talked for a moment, then Pikachu turned around,

"Pika! pika chu! chu chu! pika pi Pika chu!" Pikachu explained.

"Well? What'd Pikachu say, Ash?" Max asked,

"Well, I think Nidorino is a little upset. It was dishonorable, he said, to be saved from death. That it's like he's been disgraced. He doesn't want to return, but he would like us to send a message to Nidorina." Ash said, frowning after he was done

"Awww. Nidorino... You don't need to feel that way. You should go back," Dawn said.

"I don't think that will help, Dawn. Nidoking are known for their pride, and Nidorino's has been damaged," Gary added.

"Oh! Maybe he'd be willing to come back once he got stronger and was able to defeat Nidoking," Cilan said suddenly.

"Wow! That's a great idea, Cilan!" Iris said, a small blush flashed across Cilan's face.

"Oh... it... it was nothing, Iris," Cilan said rubbing his head.

"Is that what you want, Nidorino? To come back stronger?" Ash leaned down.

"Nido," It nodded and then put a claw on Ash's knee, "Nido. nido rino ni nido rino."

"Pikachu! PikaPi!" Pikachu turned to Ash.

"He... He wants to come with me? Is that what you want, Nidorino?" Ash asked.

"Nido. Nido rino rino ni."

"Pika chu chu pika chu pi."

"So you thought Venusaur looked real strong, huh? And you wanna become that strong?" Ash smiled.

"Nido," the pokemon nodded.

"Alright then, pokeball, go!" Ash said using the pokeball again. Nidorino was captured and then Ash turned to the group, "I'm going to ride Rapidash up the mountain real quick so Nidorino can tell Nidorina he's going away for a while."

"Why?" Ritchie asked.

"Because Nidorina might not believe that I kept my word if I send another pokemon instead," Ash replied.

"We don't have time for this Ash, we have to get on the road, we're trying to qualify for a tournament remember?" Paul replied.

"Don't worry, Rapidash is really fast!" Ash said before releasing Rapidash from its ball, "Let's go boy!"

"Neigh!"

"Ash!" Misty yelled.

"Don't worry!" Ash hollered as he disappeared, everyone watching the horse pokemon gallop rapidly up the mountainside with Ash on it's back.

About an hour later, Ash was back and eating with the group who had decided to eat something while they waited.

"Wow! Your Rapidash really is fast, Ash," May said as she sat down with the others.

"Yep. I helped him to work on his speed," Ash nodded.

"I must concede. You came back faster than I thought you would, Ash," Drew spoke up.

They continued to eat. Pikachu, Dawn's Piplup, that she had let out, Rapidash, and Nidorino all ate together. Ash had let Nidorino out so he could get used to everyone and the pokemon in the group. They then picked up. Ash returned Rapidash and they started traveling to the Old Shore Wharf to get on a boat for Sayda Island.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the boat-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The water was clear and the ride was smooth. Everyone was relaxing on the small vessel and talking. It would be a few hours before they reached the island. Everyone was excited because they had decided to have a beach day once they got to Sayda Island since they planned to stay the night.

"The water is so beautiful!" Misty said happily looking out over the water as they moved along.

"Yeah! I can't wait for our beach day!" May smiled happily.

"Definitely!" Ash grinned. He had returned Nidorino since they were now over water. Everyone then started talking again when Max spoke,

"Hey! What's that over there? A storm?" Everyone turned their attention towards the horizon and saw an ominous storm cloud. Then the captain's assistant came up to them,

"I'm afraid so. We're not sure were it came from. We aren't exactly prepared to deal with a storm of that size... I just came to tell all of you to hold on tight... This is going to get bumpy," He nodded and then went back into the captain's cabin.

"Do you... do you think we're going to be okay?" May asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure... I know we will," Ash said with determination and everyone fell silent as they looked out over the ocean and felt a cold wind blow.

zzzzzzzz

The water was fierce and it hit them quicker than they had thought. Everyone was holding onto each other in small groups. They laid low trying to hold on to the boat as it was tossed.

"I'm... I'm scared, May!" Max called out through the loud winds.

"It's okay, Max. It's going to be okay!" May replied.

Cilan and his brothers were holding onto each other and Cilan was holding Iris's shoulders.

"Oh no..." Gary said suddenly and everyone looked up to see a terrifying sight of monstrous wave approaching.

"No way! Not like this!" Ash said wrenching from Pikachu and Misty's grasp. He climbed up on the boat's edge and balanced, then released two pokemon, "Lapras! Floatzel! Icebeam, Iceaquajet! Now!" Lightning flashed around them.

The pokemon emerged and went into action immediately. Lapras cried out and struck the wave with the beam, causing the wave to turn into a large block of ice. Floatzel then used Aquajet and pushed itself into the beam, Lapras was still using. He then collided with the large ice wave, shattering it. Ash returned his pokemon a jumped back down into his spot,

"Look out!" He yelled as the boat was pelted with chucks of ice.

This continued for a while with Gary using Blastiose, Drew using Masquerain, Paul using Gastrodon, and Misty using Politeod, along side Ash's Lapras and Floatzel. However a final, giant wave bore down upon them after they had returned their tired pokemon. There was nothing they could do. Some took last glances at each other. Silent messages passed between them, some understood and some not, as the wave crashed down on them.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-On Unknown Island-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash's eyes opened slowly as he started to feel the sand underneath him. The first thing he saw was Misty's face next to his. He looked and saw she was breathing. He shook her as Pikachu came to next to him.

"Misty... Misty!" Ash spoke as she awoke.

"Ash?" Misty asked groggily.

Ash nodded his head before he took a look around. He counted and saw all of his friends were on the beach,

"Go Lucario!" Ash called.

**Yes, Master.**

"Use Heal pulse on everyone, starting with Misty and ending with me after Pikachu," Ash commanded.

Soon everyone was up, if only barely. Ash returned Lucario and Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder. Everyone ached and felt drenched.

"Well, Now I know what a sock in the washing machine feels like," Gary commented unceremoniously.

"Well at least we all made it," Drew replied.

"No kidding, I thought that was it," Ritchie added.

"We need to find out if the boat or the crew washed up here too," Brock informed everyone. Then they all heard a familiar voice,

"You guys are here too?"

Everyone turned and saw Barry jogging up to them, which was an odd sight since he often was always running.

"Barry!?" Dawn exclaimed.

"How'd you guys get here?" Iris asked.

"We got caught up in the same storm I suppose; we were heading back from the Sevii Islands. The others are on the other side of the island; your boat and the crew is there too. They're talking with our boat guys to see how we can get help here," Barry answered. They all traveled together over to join up with the others.

"My poor Cacturne outfit is ruined!" Harley screeched as they approached.

"Oh stop being a baby, Harley. At least we're all alive," Solidad groaned.

"No way! You guys too!?" Bianca yelled, addressing the approaching group.

The rest of the second group turned to see what she was talking about. Both groups meshed and started telling their stories of how they ended up on the island.

"That's so weird. Our stories are almost exactly the same," Zoey finally said after everyone was done talking. One of the crew walked up to the two groups and started to address them,

"Well... we can't get our radio to start working and the boats are far too damaged to be operational. We will have to start looking for food and fresh water... We might be here a while."

"Do you know our location? Like if we could get a message out would you be able to tell someone where we are?" Ash spoke suddenly.

"Well... Yes we know our current co-ordinates," the crew member answered.

"Then we've got a way out of this. We can use one of our pokemon to fly a message," Ash replied

"Yeah! perfect!" Cameron smiled.

"Come on out Pigeot!" Ash exclaimed, "Pigeot's used to flying long distances for me to deliver other messages, she'll be great for this."

"If we write a note though, it could get damaged on the way there," Serena cut in.

"Man, you're right... If only I still had my backpack," Ash sighed.

One of the two captains cut in, "Oh! All of your belongings are still safe in the boat."

"Awesome!" Chili exclaimed.

Eventually Ash got a small bottle out of his backpack that he said he had been using to send mail to Lady Ilene since Cameron castle doesn't really use much technology. He told Pigeot where to go and placed the bottle on a chain around her neck. Afterwards the groups decided to explore the island since they would most likely be spending the night there, before help would arrive. They finally found a way up on top of the plateau.

"This place is quite useless," Paul commented looking around and seeing that the island was barren.

"Alas... It appears as though we will be going to bed without food tonight," Nando commented.

"Aww! No way!" Georgia cried out and Burgundy groaned.

"Well... We still have most of our food, right Brock?" Ash turned to face everyone.

"Yeah. I imagine we'll actually be fine for a couple days even with the large group we have," Brock answered.

Everyone nodded in thanks and understanding.

"Hey, what's that?" Stephan asked pointing at a blue object in the center of the plateau.

"Hey, Ash isn't that a time flower?" Brock asked.

"Yeah! That's what it looks like! Let's go check it out," Ash replied. They all made it over to the object and found it was indeed a time flower.

"Huh? I wonder why there's one all the way out here?" May asked.

Kenny commented, "Yeah? Has someone been here before?"

"It seems as though that would have to logically be the case since these objects capture past events of living things, right?" Cilan responded.

"Crazy and beyond fascinating. How something not forged of machinery could accomplish such a thing..." Clemont said.

"Quite strange indeed," Cress agreed.

"Hmmm... from what Riley told me. Time flowers form only when very important, even pivotal moments in time occur. Strong emotion is tied to them," Ash replied.

"I wonder what event it captured?" Misty wondered.

"Only one way to find out," Trip replied.

Ash nodded, then he touched the flower and it began to glow...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Ta da! Cliff-hanger! **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :D**


	11. Lost Memories

**Sorry for the variations in chapter lengths. I'm trying to stay within the 4,500 to 9,000 ish range minus any author's notes. I have written a good deal of this story before hand so its a bit difficult to find good natural endings to the chapters. **

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_"Hmmm... from what Riley told me. Time flowers form only when very important, even pivotal moments in time occur. Strong emotion is tied to them," Ash replied._

_"I wonder what event it captured?" Misty wondered._

_"Only one way to find out," Trip replied._

_Ash nodded, then he touched the flower and it began to glow..._

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~Snapshots of Lost Memories~zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_The scenes of Ash, Misty, and Brock's first meeting with Mewtwo on New Island started to play before them. They all watched with awe and confusion..._

_zzzzz_

_They are shown the storm... Ash, Misty, and Brock braving through it. They finally make it to New Island._

_"You mean the storm was a test?"_

_"Yes... Only the strongest trainers are allowed to see my Master."_

_zzzzz_

_"Yes. The world's greatest Pokémon master...is also the most powerful Pokémon on Earth."_

_"This is the ruler of New lsland and soon the whole world. Mewtwo."_

_"A Pokémon can't be a Pokémon master! No way!"_

_"Quiet, human. From now on, l am the one who makes the rules."_

_"How's it talking?" "It's psychic."_

_"We'll show you! Let's go, Gyarados! Gyarados, Hyper-Beam attack!" _

_The attack slamed into Mewtwo's energy field and was easily deflected back, striking the powerful water-type pokemon._

_"Gyarados!"_

_"Child's play."_

_zzzzzz_

_"I haven't got much time. I pray this record of our experiment survives. A year ago we discovered... the remains of the ancient Pokémon, was sufficient genetic material to replicate Mew. Giovanni insisted on super-clones... more powerful than any living Pokémon. Finally our experiments proved successful. We produced a living Pokémon. We called it Mewtwo..."_

_zzzzzz_

_"You humans are a dangerous brought me into your world with no purpose but to be your slave, but now l have my own purpose. My storm will create my own world... by destroying yours."_

_"So you hate all humans? And you're going to destroy us to save Pokémon."_

_" Pokémon will not be have disgraced themselves by serving Pokémon are nothing but slaves." _

_Pikachu addressed Mewtwo._

_"So, you say l am wrong? You are not this human's servant? You are his friend? You are as pathetic as the rest. Humans and Pokémon can never be friends."_

_Pikachu was tossed back and Ash caught him and slammed into Brock before they all hit the ground._

_zzzzzz_

_One of the trainers attempted to attack Mewtwo with his Rhyhorn._

_ "No trainer can conquer me."_

_zzzzzz_

_The three evolutions of the Kanto starters were called to battle against their super clones._

_ "lt may not have a nickname, but l do have a Charizard. l choose you! Charizard, l didn't say start." Charizard's flames were easily deflected._

_"Your Charizard is poorly trained." _

_Ash grimaced at the insult, he knows it is true._

_zzzzz_

_The pokemon were captured by Mewtwo's pokeballs. Ash disappeared down into the bowls of the fortress to find Pikachu and the others._

_zzzzz_

_ "lt is useless to challenge me."_

_"lt's not going to end like this, Mewtwo. We won't let it."_

_Ash came walking out of the explosion from the lab. He turned his hat around and startsed to run towards Mewtwo with a punch ready._

_"You're mine!"_

_"Ash, no!" "Look out"_

_Misty and Brock watched in horror as Ash was flung upwards and towards the roof by Mewtwo's psychic. A bubble appeared at the last moment and cushioned his landing._

_"What?" "Can it be?" "What is that?" "l don't know."_

_"Mew. So finally we meet. l may have been cloned from your DNA... but l will prove that Mewtwo is better than the original. Superior to Mew."_

_"Mew and Mewtwo!"_

_zzzzz_

_Ash began to climb down as the pokemon started to fight._

_"Pokémon aren't meant to fight. Not like this."_

_"lt's useless. What can come out of it?"_

_"Nothing but pain."_

_"Can't Mewtwo understand it's not right to force Pokémon to battle?"_

_"They're all living creatures."_

_zzzzzz_

_Ash fell down to the rest of the group's level, they helped him up and began to talk about the battle again._

_"l'd rather risk my life out in Mewtwo's storm... than watch these Pokémon destroy each other."_

_"Me too."_

_"I wish there were some way to stop them. l don't know what to do."_

_"I don't think they'll ever stop."_

_"Those Pokémon are ready to fight to the death."_

_"That's a fight that nobody's going to win."_

_"Someone's got to take a stand. Someone's got to say no and refuse to fight. Just like Pikachu."_

_They glanced at Pikachu and his clone to see the clone slapping Pikachu repetitively while Pikachu simply refused to fight back._

_Ash faced the middle of the battlefield and started to run. Misty reached out to try and grab his hand before he left, it missed barely and Brock grabbed and held her. She yelled out to him_

_"Ash, wait!"_

_Ash begins to yell at Mewtwo and the rest of the pokemon._

_"You've got to stop right now! Stop!"_

_"No!"_

_Misty yelled. Then the explosion of the blast between Mewtwo and Mew's attacks consumed Ash's figure and Misty's voice was drowned out. The explosion faded and Ash landed on the ground and turned to stone._

_"Fool, trying to stop our battle." Mewtwo spoke staring at Ash._

_Pikachu dashed to Ash's side and began to cry. He shook his trainer, trying to wake him. He began to electrocute him to wake him up. Nothing._

_"No... Please no..." Misty whimpered._

_zzzzz_

_The pokemon had begun to cry. Their mournful calls rung throughout the stadium, the island. The final tears from Pikachu woke Ash and restored him._

_"Pokemon tears... I thought they were only a legend..."_

_zzzzz_

_"The human sacrificed himself to save the Pokémon. l pitted them against each other. Only when they set aside their differences... did l see the true power they all share deep inside. I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life... that determines who you are."_

_zzzzzz_

**_He cares for all of them clone and natural born alike._**

_"He... does?" Mewtwo asked Mew as she spoke softly to him._

**_That is why they cried for him._**

_Mewtwo finally closed his eyes and nodded, "I guess... I was wrong."_

_zzzzzz_

_Mewtwo turned to leave with the clone pokemon and Mew._

_"Mewtwo, where are you going?"_

_"Where my heart can learn what yours knows so well. What transpired here, l will always remember. But perhaps for you, these events are best forgotten."_

_Light engulfed them all._

_zzzzzz_

_Ash, Misty, and Brock were shown to be back at the Wharf. Ash glanced up at the sky and saw Mew float through the clouds, briefly._

_"What's that?"_

_"What's what?"_

_"I don't see anything, Ash." "Except the sky."_

_"The day l started my Pokémon journey... l saw a really rare Pokémon. And just now, l thought l saw another one."_

_"Maybe you're just seeing things, Ash."_

_"Maybe he's not."_

_"Maybe we'll see..."_

_zzzzzzzzzzz~The Time Flower closed~zzzzzzzzzzz_

Everyone was silent. Ash was still kneeling next to the flower, facing away from everyone. After the memory was revealed, the memories in the trio's minds were returned along with the emotion that was felt that day.

"PikaPi," Pikachu murmured and wrapped his tail around Ash's neck.

"Ash... You... you died," Max stammered.

Suddenly Misty covered her face with her hands and began to sob.

"Misty..." May said as she placed her hands on Misty's shaking shoulders.

"Brock?" Solidad asked. Brock was silent, staring at the ground. His eyes watered up, but he remained silent,

"..."

Ash slowly turned around after hearing Misty sobbing for a moment. He got up and walked over to her,

"Mist... It's okay. It's okay..." Ash said. Misty looked up at him and embraced him, hiding her face in his chest, "I'm fine... It's just a memory now."

"Why would you do that, Ash?" Misty spoke with her face still hidden.

"...Because... They were hurting... Mewtwo was going to hurt everyone... I'd say one Pallet kid in exchange for the world isn't a bad deal," Ash stated while stroking her back.

Gary shook his head and looked away. Many in the group blinked in shock.

"But what about me and Brock, your... your mother..." Misty said slowly.

"I know... Mom would've been sad... but you and Brock have each other... besides now you have a bunch of new friends, some of them best friends. I'm not that special, right?" Ash replied.

Misty stiffened and her grasp on him got tighter. May exchanged a glance with Dawn, Iris, and some of the others in their group.

"...Your really important to me Ash... You are that special," Misty stated still hiding her face.

"I... I don't understand..." Ash answered.

"You... you never understand..." Misty sighed.

"Mist... stop trying to play 20 questions with me and just talk to me... You can trust me with anything... You know that, right? I would never do anything to hurt you... ever..." Ash said.

"...I..." Misty began.

May looked at Iris with a bit of wonder and Iris grinned like a cheshire cat. Cilan sweat-dropped; he won't hear the end of this...

"I... I really like you Ash... As in romantically like... Besides... You mean the world to me, it's not a good deal at all in my book," Misty searched his eyes, "You have no idea what that did to me. To see you... you know."

Ash stared into her eyes looking for deception, "You... like me... that much?"

Misty looked back at him and nodded slowly.

"You're... sure?" Ash asked confused.

"Yes... I am," Misty nodded, seemingly looking a bit distressed at his reaction.

"You... Can't though..." Ash stared at the ground for a moment.

Misty finally notices the confusion and fear in his eyes. She recognizes it as disbelief. She walked closer and placed both hands on the side of his face to get him to focus on her.

"I do. I swear it," Misty smiled a little after using Ash's own words against him.

Ash smiled ever so slightly and then spoke again,

"Mist... I... I did know how you felt, because all I could think about when I started to run was how scared or maybe in pain you would be if Mewtwo succeeded... It made me feel like I could've run forever, Because I..." Ash blushed and looked away, "I... really like you too Misty... Even with how often we fight... I never really felt like I was fighting with you... Even though I'd miss everyone every time I went on a new journey... I kinda always felt like something was different when you left... You did... save me a few times after all and well... I don't think I'd be the same person I am if it wasn't for you. Heck you saved me the first day of my journey by fishing me out a of freaking river," He paused and then turned back to look her in the eyes, "I just don't understand though... Why me? You're a Sensational sister... You could have almost anyone."

"Ash..." Misty said slowly and tried to speak, but was interrupted.

"I don't have much to give you... I'm not a gym leader like Rudy was or Danny... I'm not sure if I can make you happy. I guess that's why I didn't like them... I guess inside I knew they could make you happier. I'm not good enough for you, Misty. Most of the things you used to say about me are right," Ash said to her and scratched the back of his head and diverted his eyes again.

She makes him look back at her, "You... you really mean that... don't you? You... don't think your..."

"You could make me richer than Goodshow and stronger than the Master over night and I'd still never be good enough for you Misty Waterflower..." Ash said with a fierce blush and laugh. He didn't quite catch how lovely his own speech was.

Gary smiled a bit and Brock was stunned into shock and began taking notes. Everyone continued to watch.

"You know... Most of the things you used to say about me were true too. It... It was never about the stupid bike, Ash..." Misty said and smiled a bit with an embarrassed blush.

"What?" Ash asked in confusion.

"You gave me more fun and excitement in three years than all my years I lived at the gym. You and Brock gave me a reason to see the world I thought I'd never get to see... You are more loyal to your friends and pokemon than I have ever seen in anyone... and that's alot of people coming through those Cerulean gym doors. You are kind and loving and funny when you get clumsy; you can even hold up in an argument with me. You are more than enough for me and don't you ever forget that, Ash Ketchum." Misty finished and firmly poked his chest a few times. Ash stood confused for a moment and then smiled,

"Thanks Mist."

"No... thank you," Misty said and then leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

He looked at her a bit stunned and then he leaned down and kissed her back, after allowing his eyes to close. She looked shocked but then her eyes started to droop and she finally reciprocated. They stopped after a brief moment and held each other with Misty's head in the crook of his neck and his on the crown of her head.

"So... does this mean... I mean I'm not really an expert..." Ash started tentatively.

"Yep, we're a couple if that's what you want..." Misty replied.

"More than anything Mist, though you'll have to help me along. This really isn't my thing." Ash answered quickly and rubbed his head again in nervousness. Misty nodded and smiled at him fondly.

"That is just the most romantic, cutest, adorablest thing I've ever seen!" Bianca said suddenly. Ash and Misty look towards the group and both blushed, remembering they had an audience. Ash suddenly grinned and grabbed Misty by the waist. He lifted her in the air and started to spin her around,

"How about after Pigeot brings back help and we get back to the mainland, I buy you a hundred-thousand new bikes!?" Ash smiled brightly and Misty started to giggle and then laugh, throwing back her head in joy.

"I've... I've never heard Misty giggle like that before..." Brock said with a smile.

"I'm so beyond happy for them!" May said happily.

"You got that right!" Dawn and Iris said at the same time.

"Congrats Ashy-Boy, Red." Gary smiled.

"Finally!" Brock ended the conversation at that. Ash and Misty both smiled sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Pikachu was bouncing around on the ground, doing a happy dance. He jumped up and licked Ash's cheek and then Misty's. Then everyone turned, when they hear a call.

"Pigeoooh!" Pigeot cried out as it approached them.

"Pigeot! Over here! Ha ha!" Ash said and he held Misty's shoulders and waved with his other hand

Pigeot landed and Ash took the bottle and read the returning message to the group. They will be retrieved by two vessels tomorrow morning. One returning to the mainland and the other going to Sayda island. Eventually, they got back to the beach and set up camp. Everyone sat around the fire talking,

"So then Barry decided it was a good idea to run through the tall grass without a pokemon or checking to see what could be there," Kenny gave Barry a mocking glare.

"I've already said I'm sorry a million times, geez," Barry sulked.

"Man I knew you were a reckless one Barry, but I didn't know that was in your realm," Dawn smiled.

"Hey you aren't too far from reckless yourself, Dee dee..." Kenny replied.

"Don't call me that!" Dawn exclaimed.

"You're all such little kids," Iris taunted them all.

Most everyone laughed at the antics. Misty leaned on Ash who is close to her, she noticed his eyes have gone bluish in the pupils. He is using his aura vision.

"Whatcha looking for?" Misty asked, grabbing the attention of the rest of the group.

Ash turned to her and his eyes become soft and normal again, "Nothing really, I just like being able to look around after nightfall. It's calming to be able to know what's there in the dark..." Ash paused, "Do you guys what to see something cool?"

Everyone nodded and then started to follow Ash. They come around one of the corners of the island. There they see a spectacular sight. Chinchou and Lanturns are lighting up the ocean before them, some of the Chinchou are evolving as well.

"It's beautiful..." May whispered loud enough for the others to hear. She leaned forward and started to fall towards the water, until Drew grabbed her hand,

"Careful," was all he could say as he looked at her. Once she was back on her feet they both blushed.

"I second that." Serena said cheerfully. She looked over at Ash and Misty and smiled. She was happy for Ash. They did make a really good team.

"All that glorious electricity," Clemont said dreamily and Serena sighed and shook her head.

Everyone continued to watch and then Ash turned to Misty,

"Hey Mist... do you wanna get a closer look?" Ash asked her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do you mean Ash?" Misty asked.

Ash smiled and then tossed a pokeball, revealing Lapras. He walks forward and got on Lapras; he turned around and held out his hand, "Lapras would be more than happy to transport you again Misty."

Misty was slightly shocked by Ash's gesture, since the idea of Ash trying to be romantic is still foreign to her, but she then smiled and put her hand in his and he pulled her up on Lapras' shell with him.

"I forgot to mention that you found Lapras again. Since you know, we all thought we were dying," Misty laughed.

"Yep!" Ash grinned.

"Laaaalaaa!" Lapras cried out happily and bent its head around to lick Ash and then nuzzle Misty.

"Lapras let's go! See you in a while, guys!" Ash said and then Lapras made its way out to the center of the swarm of pokemon.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't, kiddies!" Gary teased.

They think they heard Misty's voice shout something back.

"I'm kinda glad the wind blocked whatever she said," Max deadpanned.

Most all of them return to the camp.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-Out on the water-zzzzzzzzzzzz

"This is really amazing Ash," Misty said to him.

"Yeah. Hey do you want to catch one?" Ash asked.

"Catch one?" Misty replied.

Ash nodded and then turned to Pikachu on his shoulder, "Hey buddy use a weak Thundershock on the water around Lapras, okay?"

"Pika!" Pikachu then did as he was told and Ash held Misty's hand as he helped her lean forward,

"See the ones who aren't twitching a little?" Ash asked and Misty nodded, "They have the ability volt absorb. Imagine you having one of those up against an electric pokemon. Most Chinchou are only able to have water absorb but a few of these seem to have volt absorb. Challengers using electric pokemon will be in for a surprise if you add one of these guys to your team," Ash ended with a smile.

"Wow... That's a great idea, Ash!" Misty said with glee.

"Hey don't act so surprised..." Ash said then pouted.

They both laughed, then Misty turned to him,

"You are really smarter than people give you credit for... especially on the battlefield."

"Thanks Mist," Ash smiled.

"Okay go Feebas! Use Tackle on the Chinchou right there!" Misty said. She released her pokemon and pointed to one of the volt absorb Chinchou that she had eyed. Feebas attacked and the Chinchou flew up in the air then shocked Feebas, "Now Flail!" Feebas chargeed with energy and then Headbutted the Chinchou. "Okay, pokeball go!" Misty exclaimed and the pokeball then rocked a couple of times and then dinged.

"I caught a Chinchou!" Misty said happily.

"Great job, Mist! I'm sure you'll raise it to be really strong!" Ash congratulated her before finding himself being kissed. They held it for a moment before breaking apart and holding each other. Ash broke the silence,

"Hey Mist, I have some good news," Ash said with a smile as she looked up at him; he nodded towards the water and she saw her Feebas staring at them before glowing a bright white. It transformed into a Milotic and called out over the sea, a long a beautiful call.

"She... she evolved," Misty said slowly and with happiness.

"Yeah... Maybe it was the ocean and the Chinchou and Lanturn," Ash said, "She did want to see something beautiful."

"Or... maybe she saw something even more beautiful... Us," Misty replied dreamily.

"You know... I think your right Mist. No matter how cheesy that is," Ash smiled cheekily. Misty thumped him in the head, then they held each other looking up into the stars.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-On shore-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Most everyone else had gone back to the campfire, but a couple remained.

"You just can't get enough of this, can you?" Gary asked.

"Nope," Brock replied.

"Why? You jealous?" Gary asked with a smirk.

"Actually... No," Brock smiled.

"Really? Then why?" Gary questioned more.

"I don't know a definitive answer, but maybe because I knew them when we traveled together and had always hoped they'd figure out how much they care about each other, that watching them together at last is almost like a reward of sorts," Brock answered.

"Hmm," Gary said in understanding before they both left.

zzzzzzzzz-Everyone back at the campsite-zzzzzzzz

Everyone slept and rested near the warm fire. Most everyone said goodnight to each other before falling asleep.

zzzzzz

The two boats came in the early morning and the two groups parted ways once more, saying goodbye and good luck to one another. After about two hours, they arrived at Sayda island. Gary dropped off the Rotom and called Professor Oak. The group decided to leave soon afterwards to continue their journey, instead of the beach day. They hadn't planned for the previous two days' sea troubles and so they got back on the water and reached Old Shore Wharf again. They sat down in the lobby and talked about where they wanted to go next,

"What is our clue again? We need to look over it again and think harder," Max said.

Brock pulled out the clue again and read it out loud. Paul spoke up, "I think there's a place called Evolution Mountain over near Fushia city. That seems to coincide with the Evolved and strong portions of the clue. I don't know if there's anything up there that is forgotten by time though..." Paul spoke.

"Oh yeah! I remember that place. Yeah I'm pretty sure there are strong pokemon up on the mountain. I've been to the town but I never got to up to the mountain," Ash added.

"Hmm. Yeah I remember that that mountain is known for its large quantities of evolution stones," Gary said.

"Oh wow sounds awesome!" May exclaimed.

"No doubt!" Max said happily.

Everyone else agreed. They packed up and got ready to take a ship to Fushia. They decided to relax for a day on the boat and swim in its pool to make up for the missed beach day, after all this boat was larger.

Everyone got changed into their swimsuits and started having a grand time.

"Cannon-ball!" Chili yelled before splashing down next to Iris, Cilan, and Cress.

"Good grief, Chili!" Cilan yelled out and laughed.

"This is so great!" Dawn said happily and May, Max, and Ritchie agreed quickly

"It's water of course it's great!" Misty said happily, "Hey by the way where is Ash?"

"I think he's still looking for that vendor, something about being hungry," Drew said as he sipped his drink and flipped his sunglasses down.

"How much can that guy eat?" Paul asked opening one of his eyes and raising its eye brow.

"Now that is a question I believe will never be answered," Brock said and laughed.

"No kidding. That was one thing I never could beat him at and that was eating contests," Gary answered as he spun a Frisbee on his finger. His hair was held back by his raised sunglasses.

Ash then walked into the pool area everyone was hanging out at, and was holding two smoothies,

"Hey guys, sorry I took so long. I saw this guy with smoothies so I got one. Hey I got one for you too, Mist," Ash finished with a smile and then kinda spaced out when he eyed Misty.

"Wow, Thanks Ash!" Misty smiled and noticed he was frozen, "Ash?"

"Huh?" Ash said.

"Whatcha looking at, Ash?" Misty asked.

In the meanwhile, Brock was laughing a bit internally, _I guess Ash is really waking up._ Brock smiled and then went into a temporary daydream about Nurse Joy.

Ash's face went red, "Oh, sorry Mist you just look really nice in your swimsuit."

Misty blushed a bit and smiled she then noticed that Ash didn't look half bad himself. He had really grown into his own the last couple years. He looked fit and stronger like most of the guys in their group, except maybe Max, his baby face had all but disappeared except when he pouted. He was a just bit taller than Gary, which all of this was surprising since Ash had been quite a runt before. Now Misty blushed a bit herself at his compliment and then gave one of her own, "Thanks Ash... You look good too."

Ash slowly smiled and then walked over and half-jumped into the pool where Misty was wading. He passed her the drink and they both started sipping on the smoothies.

"Ash... Where'd you get that scar?" Max said suddenly. Misty looked at the place on Ash's back where Max was looking and saw a large scar running from his right shoulder blade to the middle of his back.

"It's huge, Ash! What happened?" Misty asked worriedly.

"Oh... Yeah that thing. I was practicing with Tyranitar on how to control himself with Outrage and well the first time didn't go so well. I was lucky that Lucario and Pikachu helped me out. Heal pulse did some good too before I could get it treated somewhere," Ash answered.

"Geez Ash, trouble follows you everywhere," May said.

"Yeah. I guess so, heh," Ash said nervously.

"You idiot," Misty said angrily.

"I promise Mist, No need to worry," Ash said with a nervous smile and put his arm around Misty for a quick hug.

Misty's anger dissipated and she smiled sadly, "Just be more careful, please."

He smiled again with less nervousness and nodded before jumping out of the pool to throw his empty cup away. Suddenly some girls waltzed up,

"Wow are you guys like some of those tough trainers in the Master's Challenge?" The first girl asked.

"Yeah! I like know they are! I'd remember their faces anywhere!" The second girl spoke next.

Some of the girls in Ash's group became upset. The five girls walked over to each of the guys,

"Hey handsome, wanna go swim in the hot-tub?" One of the girls asked Paul.

"Hmph. I'll pass, the sun's warm enough... Would you mind stepping out of the way of the sunlight?" Paul asked without ever opening his eyes, they turned to Drew,

"How about you cutie?" Another girl cooed.

"Naw, I'm too immature for you girls. Besides I'm saving my seat," Drew said waving his hand. They looked at Gary,

"Oh, you're Professor Oak's grandson aren't you? Wanna play some volleyball?" One of the girls winked at him.

"Sorry, I'm babysitting these goofballs. You know, duty calls," Gary answered, flipping down his sunglasses. They turned to Cilan, Cress, and Chili,

"You boys certainly are cultured. Surely you want to have some fun?" One probed.

"Oh no sorry I'm quite happy right here, and I'm sure my brothers agree," Cilan answered waving his hands while Cress and Chili nodded and all three blushed. They turned to Ritchie,

"Sorry girls I'm in the middle of a race with Max and May. I'm good though," Ritchie said before the girls could ask.

Ash then returned, "Hey guys! They're having a reception party later tonight we should go and have more fun then," Ash said with Pikachu following him and agreeing; he then noticed the girls approaching him. Everyone in Ash's group looked at Misty who appeared as though her head was going to explode. She had lost him once when they had separated and she had almost never gotten him back. She didn't want to ever loose him again, especially to someone like one of those girls. _Who do they think they are anyway?_

"Oh. My. Gosh. You're the boy with the Pikachu, with that powerful Tyranitar! You're such a strong trainer and you're pretty cute too. Your eyes are like amber," The leader of the gaggle of girls said, finally reaching out and placing a hand on his chest. Ash flinched at the touch, then he placed a hand on hers and moved it off,

"Um. Sorry, I'm taken." Ash said with a grin and pointed at Misty who was happily smiling now that Ash had rejected the girls' advances.

"Her? Really? You could do better," The girl replied, causing everyone in the group to turn and stare. Most were looking at her quite angrily. Paul was scowling more than normal, even he thought that was a bit unnecessary. Pikachu's cheeks started to spark.

"Excuse me?" Misty cried out angrily.

"Yeah... really, excuse me. I don't care much for people like you," Ash replied as he made his way back over to the pool and half-jumped in again and put and arm around Misty and shared a quick kiss with her. They both blushed a bit. They still were not used to kissing quite yet, though they both agreed it was necessary in this situation. Pikachu followed behind, glancing over his shoulder to glare at these new people he didn't like.

"Whatever," The girl said and then turned towards the last boy in the group that was around her age, "How about you? Are you any fun?" She asked Brock,

"Actually... No. I'm not interested," Brock said with a scowl.

"And that's saying something," Ash replied soon after, causing most everyone in the group to laugh since they all now knew too well about Brock's antics around girls either by experience or tales told. Even Brock himself, found it to be funny.

"Hmph," The girls said angrily before stomping away. Ash turned to Misty,

"She's way off course. Your way prettier than she or any of her posse is," Ash said with a smile.

"Thanks, Ash," Misty smiled and allowed his smile to wipe away her fears. That was one of the good things about them, they had such a strong bond already. She gave him a hug; he then pulled her underwater with a shriek. She came back up with Ash close behind,

"Oh! You think that's funny do you?" Misty said with a wicked grin on her face, then she dunked Ash. Once he came up they both started laughing. Gary then cannon-balled in,

"Ahhh... It was getting hot in the chair," Gary said as Paul, Drew, and Brock made a more graceful entrance.

They all continued to have a good time, even Pikachu joined in the pool on a raft and dipped in every now and then to cool off. Psyduck swam with his floats and Piplup joined in as well. Eventually everyone started heading back to their rooms in the boat to change, when suddenly,

"Seriously!" Ash yelled his pupils flashed blue. Moments afterwards, his outburst was explained.

Prepare for Trouble!

and Make it Double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth! That's Right!

"For the love of all that is pure!" Drew yelled out.

"This is getting old real fast," Gary added.

"You're telling me..." Ash responded.

"Quiet! Now behold our weapon!" Jessie yelled and grinned wickedly.

"Hit it, Meowth!" James added.

"You got it James!" Meowth responded. He flipped a switch and suddenly green slime started pelting everyone below. The passengers started to scream. The group found themselves plastered against the wall. After everyone was immobilized, Jessie, James, and Meowth, approached.

"Hey you two should get a room, lovebirds! ke ke ke," Meowth snickered

Ash and Misty had ended up plastered to the wall with him facing her. His arms were on either side of her shoulders; they both blushed after realizing their closeness, but didn't respond.

"Hm? Why no argument, eh?" James asked.

"Could it really be?" Jessie said

"What Jess?" Meowth asked

"Are you two twerps..." Jessie pointed between the two.

"Yes," Misty said plainly and kissed Ash on the cheek, which caused him to blush more fiercely, "Happy? Now can you just leave?"

"No way! The two original twerps are finally together! How long have we been at this for you twerps to grow up so fast?" James said gleefully.

"Love torn apart by the course of life only to be brought back together by fate's hand! It's the stuff of romance novels!" Jessie elaborated dreamily.

Ash and Misty sweatdropped and many of the others in the group did as well.

"Not you guys too," Ash replied.

"No matter. Good luck wiffs your future and all. Invite us to da wedding, we'll be taking Pikachu!" Meowth said before Jessie and James placed Pikachu in a container.

"Hey!" Ash said with Misty, as they both blushed again with embarrassment and anger.

The trio then started to run away with Pikachu,

"Oh no you don't!" Ash said struggling against the goo, "Hey Mist, grab that pokeball right there on my waist," He blushed realizing what he asked her to do, "I um can't reach it with my hands up here."

"Heh heh, okay," Misty replied nervously. She reached forward and grabbed the pokeball that Ash summoned to his waist, "Go!"

Charizard burst out with a deafening roar, scaring almost everyone on board. The others in the group had been released from their sticky situation by one of the boat's security personnel. Ash and Misty were released last. Ash took off towards the edge of the boat and saw Charizard fighting with Team Rocket. A crowd had gathered.

"That Charizard is something else!" One person said.

Ash really didn't take any heed, as he called out a command, "Charizard, use Steel wing and follow up with a Flamethrower!" The other passengers nearby turned to find that the powerful pokemon's trainer was next to them. The rest of Ash's group ran up to the side of the boat to join him. Charizard obeyed his command and slashed Team Rocket's balloon before lighting it up. Pikachu's capsule was dropped and Charizard dove to get it and bring it back to Ash as Team Rocket's voices faded.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Thanks Charizard!" Ash said, as Pikachu was released. He walked up and placed a hand on Charizard's chest. Charizard then nudged him with a pleading look in his eyes,

"You wanna quick ride, huh?" Ash asked, "Okay!" He jumped up on Charizard's back; the action received some murmurs from the crowd.

"Hey Ash, can I come with you?" Misty asked with a bright smile.

"Umm. I don't know if you want to Mist. How about you watch and see, first. Charizard likes to do some aerial movements when he rides with me now and I don't want you to get scared or be sick," Ash said.

"Aerial movements?" Misty asked.

"Yeah! Just watch, okay? I'll show you! If you like it then you can fly with me next time, promise!" Ash said with a smile and Pikachu jumped off onto the boat.

"Your not much of his girlfriend, huh?" The leader of the girls walked up with a smirk. Ash's group groaned or scowled as they approached.

"Hmph! If Pikachu isn't even going with him then there's no way I wanna go..." Misty said then looked worriedly down at Pikachu, "Why... aren't you going?"

"Pika chu pi pika!" Pikachu said doing a big X across his chest.

"Ash! You better not do something stupid and hurt yourself!" Misty said turning back to him with worry. A much larger crowd had formed, now.

"Aww. Don't worry Mist I've done this a bazillion times" Ash grinned making her heart melt. Ash winked and then Charizard took off higher into the air, everyone started to watch.

Charizard charged up into the sky before going limp and letting gravity right himself, facing the water below. People started shouting as they both approached the water, then suddenly Charizard pulled out at the last second and flew inches from the water's surface. Water splashed up a bit around them as they flew.

"Woohoo!" Ash yelled in excitement, causing his group to respond with smiles and calls of their own.

"Yeah!" May said happily.

"Awesome!" Max said grinning.

Charizard then flipped slowly until he was flying upside down and Ash leaned down and placed a hand in the water, allowing it to part the water as they flew.

"I didn't know a Charizard could fly like that!" Gary exclaimed.

Charizard then righted himself and started to fly upwards again, suddenly in the water a pokemon appeared, revealing itself to be a fierce looking Kingdra. It growled and spat out a Hydropump towards Ash.

"Ash! Look out!" Misty yelled as the crowd became silent.

The water was heading towards Ash, until Charizard tilted and the water collided with his wing he had used to protect Ash,

"Charizard!" Ash yelled out as Charizard started to lose balance in the air.

Charizard roared as they both started to fall towards the ocean's surface. Ash returned Charizard suddenly, realizing that his tail flame was in danger of hitting the water if he continued to fall. Ash hit the water with a big splash, due to the speed had been traveling at.

Everyone in the crowd started to panic and suddenly Misty climbed up on the edge,

"Misty!" Dawn cried out.

"What are you doing!?" Iris added.

"Helping, Ash! I'm a water pokemon gym leader! I can swim thank you!" Misty said with frustration before she dived down into the water. The two girls looked at Brock who nodded. Misty appeared above water on top of Gyarados. They started to approach the place where Ash fell, all the while noticing the Kingdra still raging and soon turning to look at her. A large splash came up out of the water. Ash was holding onto Floatzel's back as he shot up out of the water. With another toss of a pokeball, Pigeot came out and Ash landed on her at the peak of Floatzel's jump,

"Thanks, Floatzel return!" Ash switched to another pokeball, "I imagine you want some payback, Go Charizard!" Charizard came out with a roar as it flew towards Kingdra. Kingdra didn't see it coming and was too busy firing a Dragonpulse at Misty and her Gyarados. Misty was too busy watching Ash come out of the water so she didn't see the attack coming towards her.

"Misty!" Ash called out worried as her Gyarados was hit and started to fall backwards with her still on it. She closed her eyes waiting to feel water and then instead felt talons gripping her. She looked up to see Pigeot. Ash helped her up and she returned Gyarados,

"Thanks, Ash," Misty whispered.

"No problem!" Ash said with a smile, "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you get squashed by a Gyarados?"

"Ha ha, very funny. I was supposed to be saving you," Misty said with a smirk before they both turned back to the battle,

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

The Kingdra used a Hydropump and the attacks canceled each other out. The Kingdra shot out an Icebeam that hit Charizard's wing

Back on the boat, someone in the crowd saw the Icebeam hit and spoke,

"He needs to fight that thing with another pokemon, that Charizard is done for if it can't fly."

"No way," Gary said, causing most of the crowd to turn his way, "Don't ever underestimate that Charizard... I made that mistake once."

They turned back towards to fight to hear Ash call another command,

"Use, Heatwave!" Charizard obeyed and the ice melted from his wing and the Heat wave continued on to strike Kingdra.

"Okay try some Steel wings!" Ash called out with a grin as an idea formed in his head.

Charizard came close to Kingdra and landed a few hits until Kingdra responded with a Whirlpool attack. The water around Kingdra became shallower and rapidly coursed around his body.

"Charizard! Dodge and get back!" Ash commanded as his plan was falling into place.

Kingdra growled and shot out another Hydropump. Ash reacted quickly,

"Charizard dodge, get straight above it and use FlareBlitz straight down through the top of the whirlpool, half-power!"

Everyone on the boat became confused.

"I wonder what Ash means by half-power?" Cilan asked

"I have no clue," Brock replied as everyone looked back to the battle.

Charizard's body became engulfed in flames. It thundered towards the Kingdra and smashed into its body. Steam filled the area of the battle and Charizard emerged flying up from the cloud of steam. The area cleared and Kingdra was floating unconscious.

"I'm going to try and catch it!" Ash said excitedly, "It's really strong!"

"Go for it then!" Misty said with a smile

Ash summoned a dive ball from his waist and threw it, "Go, pokeball!"

Ash then thanked Charizard and returned him, switching to another pokeball, "Floatzel! get that pokeball!" The pokeball dinged at that point and stopped rocking. Floatzel dove into the water and grabbed the pokeball in his mouth before diving under again.

"Okay, Pigeot, back to the boat," Ash said and Pigeot turned.

They landed back on the boat and some of the crowd started clapping as he helped Misty off Pigeot.

"What a great live capture!" An older woman said.

"Awesome battle, Ash!" Max said approaching with the rest of the group.

"Hey thanks guys, it was real exciting, I'll probably be a bit sore after that splash I made though," Ash rubbed the back of his head as Pikachu leaped onto his shoulder. Floatzel landed on the edge of the boat and approached Ash. He released the pokeball from his mouth into Ash's hand,

"Thanks Floatzel, great job! You too Pigeot!" Ash smiled as he pocketed the pokeball.

"Float!" Floatzel said before smiling and crossing his arms across his chest. Ash returned Floatzel and Pigeot. The crowd eventually disappeared and the group continued to their rooms to change for the reception party.

"Hey, Ash?" Ritchie asked.

"Yeah?" Ash replied with a smile.

"What did you mean when you asked your Charizard to use Flare Blitz at half-power?" Ritchie asked.

"Just what is sounds like, I didn't want to over do it. Kingdra was getting tired and Flare Blitz is one of Charizard's strongest moves," Ash winked.

"Your pokemon really got a lot stronger, huh?" Cress asked.

"You better believe it! I trained really hard with my pokemon and I want to train with Zorua, Nidorino, and Kingdra later after the party," Ash smiled.

"Yeah we should train together after the party! We're a team and can make each other stronger," Max said with excitement and many agreed.

"We're a team, for now," Paul stated bluntly.

"Oh, Paul. I know we will have to battle one another eventually, but it's okay. We can only get stronger this way," Dawn said with a smile, Paul was silent for a moment and then,

"Fine," Paul said and looked away. Everyone smiled and continued back to their rooms. They separated to get changed. Everyone exited with some nicer clothes on, more ready for a party than travel. Misty went into Ash's room to see what was taking him so long, because he was taking the longest amount of time, second only to Dawn.

"Ash?" Misty asked as she entered.

"Oh. Hey Mist," Ash said kinda nervously. She walked in and saw he was trying to comb his hair to no avail, "Sorry I'm just kinda in the middle of wrestling with my hair," Ash sighed, "I guess I'll always be a hat man." Pikachu sighed next to him. He was just wanting to nap until the group came back.

Misty walked up and took the comb and tried herself, soon it started to lay flatter, the spikes in his hair starting to not stick up as straight. Some hair came over the front and tapered in the back. She had conquered the beast.

"Wow thanks Mist!" Ash said turning to face the mirror, fixing his shirt, "Not too shabby, eh? Riley and Ilene taught me a lot about how to dress for different events... Heh."

"Not too shabby at all," Misty smiled and hugged him.

"You look awesome by the way," Ash said looking at her.

"Thanks, that's sweet," Misty said as they held each other's hands and walked out to see the rest of the group.

"Geez Ashy-Boy what took you so long? Dawn almost beat you!" Gary said.

"Yeah, I thought Gary was the vain one," Max said cheekily getting a glare from Gary.

"Heh, sorry my hair didn't like being separated from my hat, then I swam so..." Ash said and rubbed his neck.

"Alright guys let's go!" Dawn said happily as she walked towards them, Everyone made their way to the deck as night fell.

They all sat at a table together while others danced and mingled. They all told stories and shared some good laughs. Paul almost coughed up his drink once after one of the guys made a joke that surprised him.

Eventually a bunch of tough-looking guys walked up to the table and started to talk to the group,

"Hey there ladies, care to hang out with us?" One spoke trying to sound smooth.

"Um. No thanks, these guys are our friends. We prefer their company, but thanks," Dawn said trying to sound polite

"Aww. Come on babes, don't be a drag," Another said.

"Sorry, boyfriend," Misty said pointing to Ash who was smiling but eyeing the guys with suspicion. _Their intent... I don't like this..._ Ash thought, his eyes flashing blue briefly. Something only Misty seemed to notice.

"Really? Him? I could protect you much better than that runt," A third said.

Ash tensed under Misty's hand.

"I seriously doubt that. Besides I'm pretty strong myself," Misty said with a hint of anger.

"We aren't interested, beat it already!" Iris growled.

"Oh a feisty one," The fourth said.

"Come on, you're out numbered and not preferred. Take a hike," Drew hissed.

"I second that," Gary grumbled.

"You think you guys can stop us? Please," The first guy teased. Paul rose and turned to them,

"They said leave," He growled.

"Hey look what we have here! The silent one decided to stand up and say something!" The third laughed with his pals until he noticed the rest of the boys in the group slowly stand up, even Max rose, fighting off his sister's grip, and tried to puff out his chest to look as intimidating at his peers.

"Look guys, this isn't going to end well. Just go so we don't ruin everyone else's time." Brock spoke trying to control the situation but still standing firm with his friends.

"Yes. Let's try to avoid a fight," Cilan spoke in agreement while he wore the closest thing to a scowl that he could muster. Chili looked angry and Cress was frowning.

"Ha ha right... So you guys wanna dance huh? Your funeral. We may be out numbered but it doesn't matter much if we're almost twice the size of most of you," The second grinned.

Drew was standing next to Ash when the first punch was thrown. Ash saw it coming and shoved Drew over with one arm to help him avoid the punch.

"The heck?" The attacker cried out.

"Thanks man," Drew said looking at Ash.

"No problem," Ash smiled still keeping his eyes on their aggressors.

"Think you're something huh, hotshot?" The fourth growled and then threw a punch at Ash who moved his head out of the way in time again.

"How?" The second grumbled.

"Stop right there!" A security representative walked up to the group.

"Sir? Could you ask those four boys to leave? They're bothering us and our friends here," May rose to address the man who had approached.

"Why you, little," One of the guys said causing Drew to turn back around,

"Don't talk to May like that!" Drew growled.

"What you gonna stop me?" The leader leaned forward.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Drew declared.

"Hmmm. I suppose that would be helpful to quell the angst here," The guard spoke out.

"What do I get if I win?" The guy smirked.

Drew tried to think hard, then

"How about if I win I get to take you're little friend, uhhh, May, yeah her, on a date? If you win I'll back off and my pals will too," The guy grinned.

Drew yelled quickly, "No way! A pokemon battle can't decide someone's will!"

"How disrespectful," Cress growled

"Not cool," Chili spoke

"No way," Ritchie added.

"It's okay..."

Everyone turned to look at May,

"I know you can win, Drew. It's okay if I except the terms too," May walked up to Drew and put a hand on his shoulder, "Go get them, show them what a Co-ordinator is really made of," May said with a determined smile.

"But May!" Max said worried.

"What!? HA ha ha ha! You're a Co-ordinator? You're a dude though!" The guy laughed.

"Okay! That's it! You've got yourself a deal!" Drew said angrily, shaking the guy's hand.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz-Inside the boat, Training hall-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This will be a one-on-one match. The battle will end once one side's pokemon are unable to battle. Trainers choose your pokemon! The security rep. spoke.

Ash's group and a large crowd had gathered in the stands.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Go! Drew!" Ash yelled and Misty held his hand and shouted in gusto as well.

"Get'em good!" Max shouted.

"I've haven't seen many Co-ordinators battle before, I'm quite excited!" Cilan smiled.

"No doubt!" Iris grinned, "Show'em Drew!"

Drew turned after a while of hearing familiar voices and was surprised somewhat by all the support. Sure he had blended well into the group but he was surprised how nice it really felt to be traveling with friends. He smiled, flicked his hair, and nodded before he spotted May,

"Make him regret bad-mouthing Co-ordinators!" May shouted loudly with fire in her eyes.

zzzzzzzzzzz-On the field-zzzzzzzzzzzz

He smiled and turned to face his opponent, "Go! Girafarig!"

His opponent smiled and threw his pokeball, "Go, Shiftry!"

Drew smiled almost giddily, _A dark/grass type, eh? Just like Harley's Cacturne..._

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Neat, Drew has a Girafarig," Gary said, looking over the choices of pokemon on the field.

"Yep! He caught it in Johto," May answered with a snicker.

"What's so funny May?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Misty asked.

"The opponent has no idea what a bad mistake he made," May answered with a grin.

"What do you mean? Shiftry's dark type attacks are strong against Girafarig's part psychic typing," Paul stated with his eyebrow raising.

"But this Girafarig was trained to deal with Harley's Cacturne," May smiled.

"Also a dark/grass type, of course!" Brock said.

They smiled and all turned back to the battle,

"This should be good," Ash said.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-On the field-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Shiftry use Leaf Tornado!" The opponent called out. A wind picked up and started to swirl around, leaves forming inside. It then started heading towards Girafarig.

"Agility!" Drew responded allowing Girafarig to dodge the move, swiftly, "Now Stomp!"

Girafarig's hooves struck Shiftry hard and he got pushed back,

"Oh yeah! Beat up!"

Shiftry dashed forward and rained punch after punch down upon Girafarig. Girafarig fell back and hit the ground hard...

Drew froze.

_~zzzzzzz~_

_"I see. That's cool," Drew responded, "Does... does... it really work to bond with your pokemon that way? Do they really try harder then? Does it feel... different?"_

_"Chaaaa! Pika chu pi pika chu Pi pika PikaPi!" Pikachu responded immediately and Drew stared at it, shocked_

_"Ha ha! It seems Pikachu agrees with your idea and I do too," Ash responded_

_~zzzzzzz~_

"Girafarig! I believe in you! Get up! Show them your real power!" Drew yelled out.

"Ha! Some trainer, excuse me, _Co-ordinator_, you are!" The opponent sneered.

zzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzz

"Oh no that Beat up attack was really powerful!" Iris said in worry.

"Leave it to someone like that to gang up on someone the best they can without breaking the rules," Gary huffed.

"Can Girafarig get up?" Chili asked.

"Probably not he's one of Drew's least trained pokemon. His pleas are on deaf ears," Paul said coldly

"No. I know Drew can do this and Girafarig too," May said adamantly still watching the battle.

"Yeah. I feel it. Girafarig can hear his calls... His energy is rising," Ash said with a smile.

Most of the group looked up and smiled. Paul just stared with a bit of shock evident on his face. They all turned back to the battle.

zzzzzzzzzzz-On the field-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Just give it up! Your pokemon is done. It's just as weak as you are!" The opponent shouted.

"Come on, Girafarig! I know how strong you are you can do it!" Drew called once more and slowly Girafarig rose and bellowed.

"Okay! Use Energyball at the ground in front of Shiftry!" Drew said. He had slipped into full contest mode. The opponent wouldn't know what hit him.

The green ball of energy exploded causing dust to fly up, "Swagger!" Girafarig ran into the cloud as the opponent tried to reclaim control,

"Use Razorwind!" Shiftry tried to store up energy for the attack, but Girafarig suddenly appeared with only its head sticking out from the cloud and puffed its breath in Shiftry's face. It soon became confused and enraged. Girafarig backed up and awaited it's next command

"Thanks for the power boost!" The opponent yelled, "Use Faint attack instead!"

Shiftry rose and started to move forward but then stopped and bashed it's head into the ground with rage.

"Shiftry! What are you doing?!" The guy shouted.

"Okay Energyball!" Drew commanded, "Then Signalbeam!"

Girafarig charged up both attacks. It's tail started to become covered with green grass-infused energy and its horns started glowing with greenish-yellow bug-infused energy. With a whip of its body and tail, the Energy ball attack flew towards Shiftry. With perfect timing the Signalbeam shot from his horns and hit the Energyball that had just struck Shiftry, causing the two attacks to explode and increase the damage done from both. They showered the field with green and yellow sparks, a display living up to the Co-ordinator name.

The dust cleared and Shiftry laid on the ground, swirls in its eyes.

Shiftry is unable to battle! Girafarig is the winner!

Ash's group, except maybe Paul, erupted into cheers. Pikachu started jumping around happily. Paul clapped a bit and allowed a small smile to cross his lips, unseen, before following the group onto the field. Drew's opponent returned his pokemon and sulked off with his posse muttering something about cheap tricks.

"You did it Drew!" May said before hugging him tightly and causing him to blush.

"Thanks May, everyone... I... I couldn't have done it without you guys," Drew said tentatively at first before smiling. May looked at him in shock for a moment before smiling herself,

"You know that's... that's what we're for, right?" May said happily.

"Yeah! Friends are awesome!" Max grinned and Ash ruffled his hair.

Drew turned to Ash, "You... you were right... It did feel different. It felt, right."

Ash looked at him confused before a look of understanding crossed his face,

"Yeah. Humans aren't your only friends... We all lean on each other and make each other stronger," Ash said with a smile before Misty held his hand and Pikachu nodded happily.

"What's that?" Chili asked.

"Believing in your pokemon," Brock answered simply causing everyone else to smile. Paul simply nodded but showed a bit of reserved indifference.

They stayed out for a bit longer before returning to the training hall to train some of their pokemon. Max's Kakuna sparred with Misty's Chinchou. Ash's Zoura fought with Gary's Umbreon. Ash's Nidorino battled with Brock's Ludicolo. Drew's Girafarig sparred with Paul's Weavile. The Striation Brothers battled with each other using their elemental monkeys. May's Wartortle fought with Dawn's Quilava. Ritchie's Sparky and Pikachu tested their electricity on each other. Iris stood by while she waited for Ash to talk with Kingdra to see if he would battle Haxorus.

"Okay, come on out, Kingdra!" Ash said as the pokemon appeared. The pokemon stared at him and made a bubbly, gurgling, growling noise. Then a Hydropump shot out and Ash barely dodged it.

"Whoa!" Ash said and then looked up at Kingdra and smiled, "That's some real power! Great attack, Kingdra!"

The pokemon looked at its new trainer oddly.

Ash approached Kingdra and placed a hand on its chest. It didn't flee or attack and just stared at Ash with suspicion, "Don't worry okay? I'll let you go if you really don't like me. I wanna help you grow stronger and I'm sure your power on my team would be great! I wanna be your friend." Ash said allowing some aura to pool in his hand on Kingdra's chest, his intent and emotion flowed through Kingdra. The pokemon blinked and then gurgled with a much happier noise. It then commenced to blast Ash with an inky Octozooka,

"Ahhhack!" Ash cried out, causing everyone to turn to him.

**Master? Are you alright?**

"PikaPi?" Pikachu asked.

"*cough* Yeah I'm fine, although... This seems awfully familiar," Ash replied. Everyone laughed and turned back to their battles. Ash rubbed most of the ink off but still had some smudges on his cheeks.

Iris laughed and spoke, "That's hilarious! Just like Charizard, huh? Are you ready to fight Haxorus, Kingdra?"

Kingdra nodded to Ash and gurgled happily before coming into place in front of Haxorus and beginning to spar.

After around an hour, everyone returned their pokemon and went to their rooms for the night. They would arrive in Fushia tomorrow.

zzzzzzzzzz

**First note yes, I altered the First movie a tiny bit. Just merely the addition of Misty trying to grab Ash before he started to run and the little mental conversation between Mew and Mewtwo.**

**Second, don't worry the other characters will catch pokemon too. I'm trying to give everyone a fair turn. :)**

**Last, I hope I did alright with how Ash and Misty became a couple. I'm trying to strike a balance between OOC and their cannon personalities, given that they have aged in my story. I also wanted to focus more on the growth of their relationship from this point on, rather than their journey to have one. I kinda feel like they already where there they just needed to admit it and the memories gave them the opportunity to, just like Iris predicted, sorry Cilan XD. As for the boat scenes I wanted to give both the guys and the girls their chance to stand by each other. A little bit of team building tests :D and jealousy?**

**I hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Racing and Running

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

By the afternoon of the next morning, the boat approached the port and the group was finally back on land.

"Ah! Nothing like good ol' Terra Firma!" Gary said and stretched.

"You said it Gary!" Ash said as he did the same.

"Whatever. I like the water," Misty said as she joined Ash.

"Oh.. Well the water's great too Mist," Ash said nervously.

"Chill, Ash I'm just messing with you," Misty winked.

"Well don't," Ash pouted getting some laughs from the group.

"You may have gotten a girlfriend before me, big guy, but you still have a lot to learn about girls," Brock spoke laughing.

"I would've been more shocked if you had gotten a girlfriend before Ash," Dawn said with a mischievous sideways glance. Brock and Ash both then sulked and everyone laughed. Eventually they entered Fushia city where they would stop before reaching Stone town next.

"Oh wow!" Max said before running past the group, causing May then the rest to follow behind quickly. They approached a sign that said there was going to be a Rapidash race that offered a full set of evolution stones to the winner.

"Awesome! Maybe I should enter with Rapidash! We could use those stones later, you know?" Ash said with a smile

"I think you should, Ash!" Dawn smiled.

"Dream on! This race is for professionals only!" A man said as he approached them. He was wearing a jockey uniform.

"Leave them alone, Jack!" Another voice said suddenly, "The competition is for anyone with a Rapidash." The newcomer walked up and revealed herself to be Lara Laramie.

"Lara!" Ash, Misty, and Brock exclaimed.

"Oh! It's you guys! Long time to see!" Lara said cheerily.

Everyone was introduced and they explain what they are doing.

"Wow! The Master's Challenge, huh? Sounds hard, but I know all of you will do great." Lara said.

Brock then jumped forward and clasped Lara's hands.

"With you cheering me on and by my side, I could accomplish any feat!" Brock gushed. Misty then came to Lara's rescue, dragging Brock away.

"Hmmm... I've kinda missed doing that," Misty smiled as she dropped Brock heavily on the ground.

"Hmph, Whatever. Just don't enter in the competition." Jack spoke to the group before turning and leaving.

"Don't mind him, he can be a jerk sometimes," Lara said, "Any who, when did you get a Rapidash, Ash?"

Ash told her his story,

"Wow! A different color? Can I see?" Lara asked and Ash soon released Rapidash.

"Hey buddy, this is Lara, she's a friend." Ash said as Rapidash nuzzled him.

"He's beautiful! I can't wait to see him run!" Lara says happily, "How about you guys stay at my farm instead of the pokemon center?" Everyone agreed and thanked her before heading towards the Laramie ranch. Ash let Rapidash into the field with Lara's Rapidash who came up and nuzzled Ash before running off with Ash's Rapidash

"Ha! I guess she recognized you, Ash." Lara said

"It's hard to forget Ash," Misty said with a mocking grin.

"Ha ha so funny, Misty," Ash replied.

Everyone sat in the house and gathered around the fire to tell stories. They all were given a mug of hot chocolate.

"And then the kid wouldn't stop talking to me about how strong his Rattata was," May sighed, "I will never visit route 31 again..."

"Ha ha ha! Oh man..." Max said.

"What was scary was that he wouldn't stop following us both," Drew replied shaking his head.

Everyone laughed and joked, even Paul told and entertaining story about the start of his journey. Everyone then went to bed.

zzzzz

The next morning everyone was walking out with Lara to get both her and Ash's Rapidash. They then traveled to the race track where they unfortunately met up with Jack and his employer, Mr. Rapido.

"Ah... Lara I expected you to be here, but who...?" Mr. Rapido stopped talking once he saw Ash's shiny Rapidash.

"Where on earth did you find that fine specimen?" Mr. Rapido rambled and came closer to Ash's Rapidash

"Oh. Um in a field beyond the Safari zone. It's protected now I think though, right Gary?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. A couple months ago they enlarged the Safari zone," Gary nodded.

"Oh, yes I've been there before... This wouldn't happen to be the herd you're referring to would it?" Mr. Rapido asked gesturing to a paddock nearby. One of the mares noticed Ash's Rapidash and whinnied; several others then did the same. Ash's Rapidash trotted over and started to nuzzle his mother.

"That's... That's Rapidash's mother," Ash said in shock, "How were you allowed to catch them?"

"Money... makes the world go round, boy... Speaking of money... I'll pay 50, 000 poke' for your stud there... I would love to have him in my breeding stock, plus he'll get to be with his momma," Mr. Rapido smiled and then smirked.

"What!?" Everyone yelled.

"50, 000 poke'..." Ash almost whispered.

"I can see you aren't used to such high dealings... I can imagine your mother would be quite happy if her son brought home such earnings," Mr. Rapido grinned placing an arm around Ash's shoulders.

"No... She wouldn't if I sold a friend. I'll only do it if Rapidash wants that," Ash said looked Mr. Rapido in the eyes. Misty smiled happily at her boyfriend, while he did what he did best and stand up for a friend.

"If... that's... what Rapidash wants? What on earth do you mean, boy? This is a business. Sure we care for our Rapidash, but time is money," Mr. Rapido frowned as Ash walked past him and up to Rapidash,

"Hey... It's great that you got to see your herd again, huh buddy?" Ash asked stroking Rapidash's neck.

"Whinny!" It replied.

"Would... would you like to stay with them now? Or would you like to continue to travel with me? It's your choice," Ash said with a sad smile.

Rapidash looked at his mother and then to Ash and the group and back again. His mother whinnied softly. He nuzzled his mother and then walked over to Ash and grabbed his hat from his head and nuzzled him before placing his hat back.

"You... wanna stay with me?" Ash asked, then getting licked by Rapidash. He turned around to face Mr. Rapido,

"Sorry, no deal. Rapidash wants to continue to be with me," Ash said with a smile.

"100, 000 poke'," Mr. Rapido replied simply.

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"You heard me, I will pay 100, 000 poke' for your stud," Mr. Rapido stated.

"Sorry, Rapidash doesn't want to. No amount of money will change my mind," Ash said now getting a little angry.

"I will not accept no as an answer," Mr. Rapido said sharply.

"Hey Pal, leave Ash alone he doesn't want to sell Rapidash!" Misty said angrily.

"Be quiet missy! This is a dealing between men," Mr. Rapido said harshly getting glares from everyone in the group.

"Don't talk to Misty like that!" Ash said angrily and Pikachu's cheeks started to spark. Misty looked at Ash and saw anger sparked from within his eyes. She knew he was really mad.

"Forget it boss, you won't change his mind. That Rapidash is a battler. He belongs to a trainer and they need their players. He wouldn't breed good for racers anyway," Jack said, entering the conversation.

"What's wrong with a battling Rapidash?" Paul asked with a bit of anger in his voice. He wasn't to happy the way Jack seemed to speak about trainers.

"Nothing except they're too busy learning to dodge and weave instead of running forward without fear," Jack replied smirking.

"I've trained my Rapidash to be fast! He's very fast!" Ash came back.

"How fast?" Mr. Rapido asked with a glint in his eye.

"Um. Well it took us an hour to climb Mt. Hideaway and down again," Ash stated.

"...two hours up and down? Pathetic," Jack snorted.

"No, one hour up and down," Ash replied. Both Mr. Rapido and Jack stared at him for a minute.

"Impossible," Mr. Rapido said finally.

"Well, you'll see in the race, right buddy?" Ash said stroking Rapidash.

A crooked smile crossed Mr. Rapido's face, "I'll tell you what... How about we make a wager? If my Rapidash wins the race... I get your stud. If you win... I let his herd back out into the wild. Deal? We even have witnesses here to solidify the contract," Mr. Rapido said before holding out his hand to Ash.

"I...Rapidash?" Ash said and looked up at his pokemon, "I can't make that call for you. Do you want to take that risk?"

Rapidash looked hard at Ash before nuzzling him and shaking his head, he reared ready to race for his family.

"It's a deal then?" Mr. Rapido asked.

"Yeah, If Rapidash is willing to I'm more than willing to." Ash said as he shook the man's hand

"Hey and if neither of you win, then nothing changes," Lara said with a wink, "Don't count me out!"

zzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stables next to the race track-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"It's necessary, to have clothes like this. They are more durable and aerodynamic," Lara said, facing to group.

"I wonder how much longer he's going to take?" May asked, "He's been changing for a while."

"These clothes are kinda tricky to get into unless you're used to them." Lara said with a smile, everyone then turned to see Ash come walking out of the changing room. His hat had been placed on Misty's head and Pikachu squeaked happily when he saw him again. He wore a black sleeveless shirt with a tight collar. His pendant rested on his chest. His pants were dark navy blue and fit tightly to his legs. He had boots that looked rugged and dirty with hidden luster underneath. He rubbed the back of his head,

"Not really my normal style, but whatever." Ash said. He tugged at some various places on his clothing, "Man this stuff is itchy."

"I don't think it's too bad, sure it's not you but it's just one race," Misty said with a smile, blushing a bit at how tightly fitting the clothes on Ash were.

Everyone agreed and then made their way towards the race track. Ash's group made their way into the stands and Ash and Lara made their way to the show ring where their horses were already being walked. They mounted their Rapidash, and all started making their way towards the starting line. The riders placed their eyewear on and prepared to load. They were in the slots ready to hear the bell to start the race,

"Say goodbye to your stud there pal, you shouldn't of made that deal, heh heh," Jack laughed and some of the other jockeys sneered at the new amateur.

"We'll see, Jack. Don't count me and Rapidash out," Ash said with a competitive and reserved smile before rubbing Rapidash's neck. Suddenly the bell rang and Ash's Rapidash leaped from the gate at perfect time to begin the race.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Wow! Ash and Rapidash got out of the gate really well!" Chili said excitedly.

"It's must be because as a pokemon that battles, Rapidash must be prepared to react in a moments notice, maybe even before Ash warns it of an attack." Cilan responded.

"Go! Ash!" Misty yelled with Pikachu joining in.

Everyone else cheered and commented further as the race began.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-On the track-zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash felt a surge of power, flow from Rapidash. His eyes flashed blue and Ash could feel the aura in Rapidash thundering through its body. He couldn't help but raise his arms as they flew ahead of the pack and shout out,

"Woohoo!" Ash cried out loudly as Rapidash thundered on. Soon the rest of the pack found they were being left behind quickly, and with the race being only one lap and finishing once they reached the point they started at, Jack got nervous.

"Whip'em!" Mr. Rapido yelled out desperately, "Forget the plan, just run it out!"

Jack heeded his boss's words and whipped his ride causing it soon to become a two man race. Lara watched in awe and amusement as she settled into leading the rest of the pack.

Ash regained his more aerodynamic posture on Rapidash and let him run. He glanced back to see Jack gaining on them.

"Be wary, Rapidash. Jack's coming," Ash said into his pokemon's ear. It responded by picking up the pace more, "How long you think you can keep this speed up?" Ash asked. Rapidash snorted signifying he could do it. Ash nodded but felt for Rapidash's energy level, taking note that Rapidash might be able to keep this speed until the end of the race, but unless they paced themselves he wouldn't have a speed burst at the end. Ash pulled back slightly on the reins getting a frustrated snort from Rapidash, "I'm sorry but we need a bit of a kick at the end, trust me," Jack then made his move,

"Ha ha! See you at the finish line, rookie!" Jack cackled as he flew past and fell into gate in front of Ash and Rapidash, kicking dirt and mud into their faces.

zzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"What a dirty trick!" Dawn blurted out.

"Yeah!" Max growled.

"Sadly it's completely allowed," Brock said with frustration.

"Yeah. It's not truly hindering Ash or Rapidash's potential, just playing mind games with them both," Gary commented further.

"Ash will figure something out. I know it," Misty said as Pikachu nodded.

"Yeah, Rapidash has spirit," Drew said.

"And that can't be bred into a pokemon, it has to be brought out by its trainer," May said with a smile.

"Go Ash!" Iris, Chili, and Ritchie yelled at the same time.

"Go Rapidash!" Cilan and Cress yelled out soon after.

Paul nodded as a sign of his agreement.

Everyone continued to watch the race unfold.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-On the track-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Yuck!" Ash sputtered as he pulled some dirt from his mouth, "So he wants to play dirty, huh?" Ash growled, Rapidash snorted, "Okay sorry that was a bad pun, but it was true. Anyways lets ride; go around him Rapidash but don't go all out!" Ash called Rapidash nodded in excitement and sped forward as the two riders, rounded the final curve.

Jack noticed his movement and attempted to block him,

"Oh no you don't kiddo!" Jack yelled out and moved his Rapidash to block them. Ash then commanded his Rapidash,

"Move the other way now, quick!" Ash spoke. Rapidash obeyed and jerked the opposite direction that Jack was attempting to block Ash, successfully getting around Jack. Ash's Rapidash ran then at full gate leaving Jack behind in great strides.

zzzzzzzzzz-In stands-zzzzzzzzzzzz

"Yes!" Misty yelled out happily almost causing Pikachu to fall out of her lap.

"Awesome move, Ash!" Max called out with glee.

Suddenly they felt a rumbling underneath them. Everyone watched in horror as pillars of solidified earth started heading towards the race track, erupting up from the ground. Paul took a quick look at Mr. Rapido and felt himself grow ill once he realized the man was smiling. Misty would have looked too, but she was too busy watching helplessly as the pillars made their way out in front of Ash and Rapidash. It appeared as though they would strike them directly.

"Ash! No!" Misty called out in fear.

zzzzzzzzzzz-On the field-zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash felt rumbling and saw earth pillars coming out of his peripheral vision. He also thought he heard a warning from Misty on the wind whipping past him. He leaned down to talk in Rapidash's ear, "Ok buddy, when I tell you to move, move right then, okay?" Ash asked getting an affirmative whinny from Rapidash. Ash watched as the pillars seemed to be on a course to collide with them, they would end up blocking the rest of the pokemon from racing but Ash knew that would only be a side effect. He waited until a few moments before they were struck, "Use, Bounce!" Ash yelled suddenly. Rapidash responded lightning quick thrusting them both into the air very high as the pillars collided with nothing and blocked off the rest of the Rapidash from racing. Ash felt Rapidash bend its mid section getting ready to land, Ash braced himself as they struck the ground. Rapidash then took off towards the finish line. Ash flashed a goofy double peace sign as they ran through the white tape and everyone, almost everyone, erupted into cheers.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Thank goodness!" Dawn said and let out a breath.

"Leave it to Ash to do something so random and crazy and it end up working," May said as she smiled.

Everyone got up and made their way towards the winner's circle, they didn't notice Paul separate from the group.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-Everyone-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash allowed Rapidash to rear and whinny happily before the officials approached.

"Congratulations, Mr. Ketchum. Here is your set of evolution stones," The official said as he placed each stone into a bag and handed it to Ash, "And your Rapidash's ribbon for winning the event," the official finished as he placed the ribbon in Ash's hand.

"Thanks! It was real fun, I'm glad I tried it out and Rapidash had fun too," Ash said with a smile as a few reporters approached for the local paper.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Max said happily as the group approached.

"Hey guys, thanks! It was a little crazy there at the end, but Rapidash pulled through," Ash said

Misty walked up and hugged him now he was on the ground, "I'm glad your okay. I swear you're going to give me a heart-attack, Ash."

"Sorry, Mist. This time it wasn't my fault though," Ash hugged her back and smiled.

"Speaking of which, whose fault was that? Is a good question," An officer Jenny said as she walked up to them.

"Yeah! That wasn't normal!" Ritchie said nodding to the group.

"I think... I think that was a Earthpower attack," Brock said rubbing his chin.

Suddenly everyone turned to the sound of an explosion. They saw Paul fighting a Nidoking with his Gastrodon. They ran forward and saw Mr. Rapido standing at a distance,

"Just admit it already! You commanded this Nidoking to attack Ash! You could of seriously hurt any of the people or pokemon on that track!" Paul growled.

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about, you hooligan! I've never seen this pokemon in my life!" Mr. Rapido yelled and then turned to officer Jenny, "Please Miss Jenny, arrest this young man for assaulting me!" Mr. Rapido yelled.

"Paul wouldn't do that," Dawn said simply, causing Paul to look at her in reserved awe.

"Yeah, no way," Ash said and everyone else in the group nodded. Paul smiled ever so slightly and then jerked his face back into a scowl while turning to face Mr. Rapido. He walked up to him and pulled a pokeball out from his jacket. He turned to the Nidoking as Mr. Rapido fumbled behind him,

"Return," Paul said and Nidoking returned into the pokeball, "Here I believe this belongs to you," Paul gave him back the pokeball before walking over to Jenny as Mr. Rapido's eyes bored into his back, "The Nidoking was under the stands... That's were I found him. He hid there to use the Earthpower move without being seen," Paul said before turning around to face Mr. Rapido with the others.

"I'm going to have to place you under arrest, Mr. Rapido," officer Jenny said as she approached him and handcuffed him.

"Oh and don't worry! I'll let the herd go!" Lara yelled as Mr. Rapido was taken away and as she approached the group.

"Well, that ended well," Drew said with a smile.

"Yes that would have been quite awful to have to get our friend out of jail and prove his innocence," Cilan said.

"Defiantly would've put a damper on this fun trip we've been having," Gary said with a smirk

Everyone laughed at the humor, even Paul smirked. Ash let Rapidash say goodbye to his family as they were released. He then returned Rapidash and they started walking into the city after saying goodbye to Lara. Ash had changed back into his normal clothes.

"I know something I would like to do, before we leave Fushia and thusly Kanto later," Cress said suddenly.

"What's that bro?" Chili asked.

"I want to explore the Safari Zone and see what pokemon are available there!" Cress said with a smile.

"Sounds quite delightful," Cilan said happily.

The group agreed and decided to check out the Safari zone the next day. Early in the morning, they got into the check station and were getting ready to enter when a problem arose,

"I'm sorry sir, but the Pikachu can't come into the Safari zone. He will have to be placed in a pokeball and left here," The official said.

"You don't understand though. Pikachu won't go in a pokeball. Besides I'm not going to attack anything," Ash said sadly.

"Sorry sir... Regulations," The official said and Pikachu drooped his ears.

"Fine. I guess me and Pikachu will wait out here for you guys," Ash said.

"Awwww," Iris frowned.

"You guys go on. Have a good time." Ash finished with a smile and rubbed Pikachu's cheek to erase the sad look from its face.

"I'll stay with you, Ash," Misty said sitting down next to Ash on the nearby bench.

"But, Mist," Ash said confused.

"They can have fun... and maybe we can too," Misty said kissing him.

"Hmmffmmmmm," Ash melted into the bench until Misty stopped, "Okay..." Ash said with a big goofy smile. Misty giggled and then turned to the others as Ash put his arm around her and held her hand,

"Don't worry guys... I've got him entertained," Misty said and blushed.

"Geez... Who would've thought, Ash of all people," Gary mumbled with amusement.

Brock just shook his head and smiled. Everyone then walked towards the entrance of the Safari zone and went in.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz-In the Safari zone-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Okay... I thought the best idea is to split up into pairs, so we can really get a good look at all of the Safari zone," Brock smiled.

"Okay me and Ritchie are gonna go together!" Max said with a smile and high-fived Ritchie.

"I'll go with you, Cilan," Iris smiled. Cilan blushed and growled at his two brothers when they gave him knowing grins.

"Me and Cress are a pair!" Chili yelled with excitement.

"I'll go with you, Drew," May smiled and Drew smiled back.

"How about you and me, Brocko?" Gary asked.

"Sure," Brock smiled.

"I guess that means, It's you and me, Paul," Dawn smiled and turned to him.

"Alright," Paul said. Dawn smiled, realizing he had said something much nicer than normal.

Everyone nodded and then split up.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-With Ash and Misty-zzzzzzzzzzzz

They walked outside to the nearby park and sat down together. They talked for a while mostly just enjoying each others company. Soon after a few kisses they had their first make-out even if it was a little awkward since both were in unfamiliar territory; it didn't matter to them though.

"You're the best, Mist," Ash said looking into her eyes after they parted from their most recent kiss. Ash had never realized what kind of feelings he had been missing out on, not having a girlfriend.

"You too," Misty said. Misty was happy she was finally with her childhood crush. They held hands as Pikachu snoozed nearby.

"You know what?" Misty said suddenly.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"We haven't even told your mom or my sisters about... us," Misty said with an amused smile.

"Oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that... Mom's gonna be mad," Ash said rubbing the back of his head.

"Well we could go tell her now," Misty said.

"Yeah... That's probably a good idea, but what about your sisters?" Ash asked.

"...We can wait for that," Misty said with a wicked grin, "If we come by Cerulean city, I want to mess with them and see if they can figure it out. They used to always tease us about it."

"Geez, Mist. Pranking your sisters like that?... Why didn't I think of that?" Ash grinned suddenly.

"Because you can be slow sometimes," Misty winked.

"Ha ha. Am not," Ash replied.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Alright, you win," Ash said with a smile before pecking her on the cheek and helping her up. Pikachu woke up and leapt onto Ash's shoulder. They then walked hand in hand towards the pokemon center.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-With Ritchie and Max-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Max and Ritchie walked for a while before they found a nice secluded spot near one of the lakes.

"This place looks good. There is bound to be a great place to catch some pokemon," Ritchie said.

"Yeah! This is so cool and exciting... It's a shame Ash and Misty didn't get to come," Max frowned.

"Yeah, but we can make them happy by bringing back more pokemon. Besides I think Ash with be fine," Ritchie chuckled.

"Yuck," Max stuck his tongue out.

"You'll change your mind one day, Max," Ritchie smiled before stopping, "Hey look!"

A Tangela came walking out from the underbrush and scuttled towards the water and started to drink.

"I want to catch it! I need a strong grass type," Ritchie said before grabbing one of the stones from the ground. Max nodded and then Ritchie tossed the rock and it splashed in the water. The Tangela looked over at them and then Ritchie bent down and placed some pokemon food on the ground in front of them. The Tangela approached cautiously and finally started to eat.

"It's really weird trying to catch a pokemon without our own pokemon to help us," Max whispered.

"Yeah, this takes a little bit more skill and patience, but It's worth it with all of the rare pokemon here," Ritchie replied before pulling a Safari ball out of his bag. He stood up and threw the ball, "Go, pokeball!"

The pokeball hit Tangela and pulled him inside. It rocked, once, twice, three times, and dinged.

"Awesome! You caught it, Ritchie!" Max said, pumping a fist in the air as Ritchie reached down and grabbed his new pokemon.

"Sweet!" Ritchie said, "Hmmmm... I think I'll call him... Romeo."

"Oh yeah! I forgot you nicknamed your pokemon," Max smiled. They started to turn around to walk another way when Max tripped,

"Ack!" Max hit the ground and a Safari ball rolled over to the lake and fell over the edge of the bank. After a moment, a ding noise was heard.

"You okay?" Ritchie asked helping Max up.

"Yeah, but I wonder where that Safari ball went? I saw one roll away and fall in the lake, I hope it didn't sink," Max said as he walked with Ritchie over to the edge. The Safari ball was floating on the water surface. Max picked it up and noticed it had captured something, "Huh? I wonder what I caught?" Max asked.

"I guess we'll have to wait until we leave the Safari zone, otherwise it'll be released here," Ritchie replied. Max nodded and they both started walking back to the entrance.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-With Brock and Gary-zzzzzzzzzzzz

"That does sound like a good way to raise pokemon... Oh and sorry about the whole Professor Ivy thing," Gary said then noticed Brock sulking far off, "What is it something I said?"

"Don't mention her name..." Brock mumbled.

"Okay, sorry, heh heh," Gary said.

They continued walking until they noticed a rustling noise from some nearby bushes.

"Hmmm. I wonder what that could be?" Brock asked.

"I guess we could always find out," Gary answered walking closer, suddenly a Rhyhorn leaped form the bushes growling.

"Oh nice! A Rhyhorn! I've always wanted to have one of those," Brock smiled.

"Then go for it, Brock-o," Gary said with a grin.

Brock nodded and then stepped forward; he leaned down and placed some food. The Rhyhorn eyed him and once Brock backed off he started to slowly approach. The pokemon started to eat until it stopped and stared at Brock's pocket,

"Huh? Oh!" Brock reached for the rocks in his pockets, "You want a treat instead?" Brock asked, walking forward slowly. The Rhyhorn reached out and grabbed one of the stones with his mouth before chomping down on it and eating a few more, "Hey careful. No more for now, you'll give yourself a stomach ache. Would you like to come with me Rhyhorn? I'll make a lot of good food for you and we can train and grow strong together."

The pokemon nodded and Brock tapped it on the head with the Safari ball, easily capturing the pokemon.

"Nice capture, Brock," Gary said.

"Thanks. I guess we should start heading back right?" Brock asked.

"Sounds like a plan," Gary answered and with that they started back leisurely, until they heard a roar and a couple screams...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz-With Dawn and Paul-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Dawn and Paul walked for a while in silence, until they reached a stream.

"How about we look around here? I looks nice and peaceful," Dawn smiled.

"I guess," Paul said simply.

Dawn looked at him and spoke again, "You know Paul... It's okay to open up to us..."

"What?" Paul asked.

"You don't need to be afraid... We won't hurt you. We're here for you Paul," Dawn smiled sweetly.

"*sigh* I'm not afraid of anything. I just don't see the gain from having friends," Paul stared at her but instead of unnerving her, she continued.

"You know you have improved since your battle with Ash and your traveling with us. You may think you're hiding it all well... but I know better. I just want to thank you for trying and encourage you to continue trying," Dawn said before walking towards the stream.

"Hmph," Paul replied.

"What?" Dawn asked, some how knowing he was confused, which surprised him.

_Does she know me that well? How open have I been? _Paul asked himself before speaking, "I don't know, I suppose I was just surprised that you didn't try to lecture me on why friends are important; my brother does it to me all the time."

Dawn was silent for a moment and then smiled, "Well that's because... I can't tell you whether or not you think friends are important or not, because that's an opinion... You have to decide if that's your final stance or not, not me or anyone else... All I can tell you is that having friends will change you."

Paul was hiding how dumbfounded he was, well. Eventually he responded, to break the silence and change the subject, "I see... Well let's continue what we started, shall we?"

Dawn nodded and turned around in time to see an Oddish tottering along next to the stream, "Awesome! I don't have a grass type!" Dawn walked forward and sat cross-legged while she placed food on the ground in front of her. Paul walked over to the stream and placed his fishing rod in.

"Come here little Oddish... I want to be your friend!" Dawn smiled and the Oddish slowly started to make its way over to the food. Paul heard clapping after a moment and looked over his shoulder to see a surprising sight. Dawn was clapping as Oddish was spinning around and around like it was dancing, "Wow! That's awesome Oddish! You would be great in contests. What do you say? You want to try to capture the stage with me?" Dawn asked it. It nodded and allowed Dawn to tap it on the head with the Safari ball and soon it dinged to signify capture. Paul smiled a little until suddenly he felt a pull and remembered his rod.

"Ah!" Paul yelped in surprise as the rod bent and tried to fly out of his unprepared hands.

"Paul? You okay?" Dawn asked turning and walking hurriedly over to him.

"Yeah. I just wasn't paying attention like a should've," Paul muttered as he strained against the rod.

"You can do it!" Dawn said.

Paul looked at her and nodded before pulling hard on the rod and flinging a good sized Magikarp into the air.

"KarpKarpMagiKarp," The pokemon gurgled as it flopped on the ground in front of him.

Both trainers stared at the pokemon before looking at each other,

"I certainly thought it was a larger catch than that," Paul said in a bit of surprise then... Dawn started to laugh,

"No kidding!" Dawn said as she laughed and soon she was joined in by Paul laughing, which surprised her at first but then they simply continued to laugh. Eventually Paul turned to the pokemon,

"Well I suppose this Magikarp does have some potential if it wishes to evolve into a Gyarados," Paul said and tossed a Safari ball and easily caught the pokemon.

"Yeah he could be real powerful one day if you work hard with him." Dawn smiled as Paul returned his common scowl, but she could tell that his face was slightly more relaxed. She couldn't help but also notice his choice of words when referring to Magikarp, _Well I suppose this Magikarp does have some potential if it _**_wishes _**_to evolve into a Gyarados. He actually cares what Magikarp thinks. _Dawn and Paul then turned to leave when they heard shouting and then familiar screams. They started to run back...

Paul couldn't help but feel a cold pit form in his stomach... He remembered he felt the same way when Mr. Rapido had tried to hurt Ash during the race. _Am I really starting to see these people as my friends? Do I really fear this much for their safety? I've never felt fear like this before... _His thoughts soon vanished as he came face to face to what was in front of him...

zzzzzzzzzzz-With Cress and Chili-zzzzzzzzzzz

"Hmmm," Chili moaned.

"What's wrong, brother?" Cress asked looking over to see his sibling sighing with boredom.

"Nothing... Just bored," Chili said.

"Oh well try to hold on okay? I'm the only one of the three of us brothers that still has only one pokemon. I really need to catch one," Cress said as he tossed his rod back into the lake they were resting near.

"Oh yeah I do have Heatmor, okay. Don't worry I'm sure you'll find one soon, Cress," Chili smiled.

"Thanks, Chili," Cress nodded and then felt a tug on his line, "Hey! I got something!"

Cress pulled until finally a slowpoke was brought up on land.

"Oh... Well it's certainly a unique pokemon..." Chili said trying to be nice

Cress meanwhile was staring at the slowpoke silently then, "It's absolutely amazing! What a wonderful water type pokemon! It will blossom under my tutelage!" Cress said excitedly, "Go pokeball!" The Safari ball hit slowpoke, who didn't even blink, before he was sucked into the capsule. It dinged almost instantly. "Yes!" Cress cried happily.

"Good job, Cress!" Chili said.

They turned around to start walking back when they heard a familiar scream...

zzzzzzzzzzz-With May and Drew-zzzzzzzzzzz

"I'm really glad I came with you guys as a group," Drew spoke as they walked along.

"Well that's good, I'm glad you came too," May said blushing a bit.

"I've learned some things from you guys... and I've really had fun so far. I never knew how much fun it was to travel with friends... It feels good to be able to trust someone and rely on them to help out... And Misty was right, traveling with Ash is crazy. You never know what will happen next," Drew smiled.

"I know. All these people Ash knows are really neat and kind. I'm glad you got to see the fun we had, and I can't wait for the rest of our journey. Will still have five other regions to visit after this..." May said smiling.

Drew nodded and they continued onwards until May stopped, "Look! It's so cute!"

Drew looked forward and saw a Nidoran female sniffing the ground in the pathway next to them, "Yeah, you should try to catch it. I don't think you have a poison type and if it evolves a couple times, then you can have a ground type too," Drew added.

May went forward and placed food on the ground. The Nidoran began to eat and then May threw a Safari ball, "Go pokeball!" The capsule rocked three times and then dinged, "Yay!" May said as she rushed over into the pathway. Drew and May then heard two screams and saw two figures run past and rumbling soon followed. Drew watched with fear as a large pokemon thundered towards May. He then did something that he would have called stupid in earlier years. Drew ran forward and tackled May out of the way. The large and angry pokemon continued down the path after the two retreating figures.

"You okay?" Drew asked, blushing when he realized he was still on top of May.

"Yeah... I'm good thanks, Drew," May said and blushed. They got up quickly and looked the way the figures and pokemon went. They both looked at each other with wide eyes as realization hit them that they recognized the figures. They started running back towards the entrance, the direction the figures and pokemon had run...

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-With Ash and Misty-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"I'm so happy for you two!" Delilah said giddily, "I just knew you two had an eye on each other!"

"Mom!" Ash said blushing with Misty.

"Oh I'm sorry Ashy! I just can't help but gush!" Delilah said happily, "Now you two just remember to treat each other with respect! And wait until after marriage!"

"MOM!" Ash and Misty's faces went fiery red at that and Ash soon decided to end the call quickly, "Anyways, I love you and we'll call you again soon."

"Okay honey! I love you too! Bye!" Delilah said before both sides ended the call.

"Well... That could've of been worse," Misty said with a smile.

"Speak for yourself... I love my mom but sometimes she just embarrasses the crap out of me," Ash sighed, "But I guess that's what mom's are for..." Misty nodded and pecked him on the cheek. They turned around and saw Pikachu snickering at them.

"Oh you think that's funny, huh? Just wait until I let Dawn's Buneary have her way with you," Ash grinned and Pikachu muttered it's name weakly and rubbed the back of his head before jumping up on Ash's shoulder.

"I think we should head back to the Safari zone gate. The others should be done by now," Misty said. Ash agreed and they made their way back towards the entrance of the Safari zone.

zzzzzzzzzz-Cilan and Iris-zzzzzzzzzzz

"What a wonderful place..." Cilan said as they walked.

"Yeah! It's amazing and there are soooooo many pokemon!" Iris grinned.

Suddenly they spotted a Paras in front of them, "Oh wow! I think that's a Paras, it's a grass and bug type! I'd love to add it to my team!" Cilan said happily.

"Then what are ya waiting for? Go for it!" Iris smiled.

Cilan walked forward and placed food on the ground. The Paras slowly made it's way to the food. Suddenly a large pokemon charged form the woods and knocked the Paras away and started to eat the food.

"Wow! That's a big pokemon and it's being a big bully!" Iris pouted.

"I... I think that's a Kangaskhan," Cilan stumbled over his words slightly since he had been surprised so

The pokemon finished eating the food and turned on the Paras who was still out cold.

"Hey! Leave that pokemon alone!" Iris yelled and the Kangaskhan turned and roared.

The next few things happened quickly, Cilan tossed a Safari ball at the Paras to try and save it and caught it, Iris fell backwards and hurt her ankle, Cilan heard her call out in pain as he reached his new pokemon, Kangaskhan became even more enraged since Cilan had approached and then it had charged,

"Pardon me for the rough treatment, Iris, but we need to move fast!" Cilan said as he literally swept her off the ground and took off running towards the entrance and away from the angry Kangaskhan. At the moment the two realized they were being chased, they screamed.

_Gotta run, Gotta run!_ was all Cilan could think as he ran like he had never run before. He thought he saw two people on the path as he ran past but he didn't pay any attention. Cilan kept running until he reached the entrance. He turned around with Iris still in his arms as the Kangaskhan charged towards them.

zzzzzzzzzzz-Everyone in the Safari zone-zzzzzzzzzzzz

Brock and Gary, Ritchie and Max, Dawn and Paul, Cress and Chili all ran up in time to see the angry Kangaskhan roaring at Cilan and Iris. Not too long after May and Drew entered the scene as well. Suddenly each of them started to try and draw attention away from Cilan and Iris,

"Hey over here!" Gary yelled.

"Hey Hey!" Drew yelled as well.

But none of it worked. Cilan put Iris behind him as the angry pokemon bared it fangs at him,

"I'm sorry but... as... as... a... a.." Cilan stuttered, "Pokemon Connoisseur... I can't allow you to hurt a... young lady..." Cilan gulped as the pokemon reared back, he shut his eyes... I few moments passed... and then, he heard a ding. Slowly he opened his eyes and no longer saw the Kangaskhan, but a Safari ball laying on the ground. Cilan scanned everyone and saw only relief, especially from Cress and Chili. He then slowly turned around to see Iris smiling up at him,

"I got your back," Iris said simply and grinned, "Thanks Cilan for helping me."

Cilan smiled and turned around and bowed, "I'm glad I could be of service." He stood back up and then passed out.

Everyone looked upset at first until Gary and Brock approached,

"He's okay, he'll wake up in the little bit," Gary said with a relieved smile. They all then helped carry Cilan and Iris grabbed her new pokemon before having Dawn and May help her walk with her hurt ankle. They then entered the lobby and got swarmed by a concerned Ash, Misty, and Pikachu.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"Are they okay?" Misty added.

"I'll tell you what I know later... and Yes Cilan just passed out from excursion and Iris hurt her ankle," Brock spoke.

"I'm fine, No need to worry," Iris said, "Thanks to Cilan."

The group made their way towards the pokemon center and as night fell, Cilan woke up. He and Iris both told their story after Iris had her ankle checked, she would just need to not walk too far each day. After the big fiasco was explained everyone then told their stories of their captures. Finally everyone decided to go to bed and slept easily after the day's events; tomorrow they would reach Stone town and climb Evolution mountain.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**The others will catch pokemon outside of Safari zones too. If you notice not everyone who went in came out with a pokemon.**

**Also Max's pokemon he caught will be revealed next chapter.**

**Next chapter will have the beginning of an intense moment in their adventure.**

**I hope you've enjoyed! Thanks for any support :)**


	13. Rocket-Dan appears!

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Everyone was quite happy the next morning. Each of them were doing their own morning routine and milling about the pokemon center lobby. Max and Misty were staring at their two Psyduck,

"I still can't believe I caught a Psyduck..." Max said, "I can't wait until it evolves into a Golduck!"

"I swear if your Psyduck evolves before mine somehow, I'll mallet you, my Psyduck, your evolved Golduck, and the writer!" Misty growled as Max cowered.

"Okay..." Max said waving his hands in defense.

Then Misty and Max as well as Brock and Gary noticed Ash walk in from outside. He was very sweaty and had a towel draped over his shoulders Lucario walked in beside him along with Pikachu and Zorua.

"Phew... I'm bushed... Ima have to eat a ton of pancakes or something so I have the energy to walk to Stone town and up Evolution mountain today," Ash smiled.

**How fun was that!? I learned soooooo much, Thanks Master, Lucario, Pikachu you are all so wonderful! I can't wait until we train together again!**

**I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, comrade. You learn almost as quickly as Ash. Your endurance is quite good as well**

**Thank you Lucario!**

"Tough work-out, huh?" Brock asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Lucario wanted me to start working on increasing the size of my aura spheres. Lets just say it wasn't easy," Ash said rubbing the back of his head. He returned and thanked Lucario and Zorua, took a shower, changed, and joined everyone for breakfast.

"So Max, you caught a Psyduck almost the same way Misty did? That's hilarious! Ha ha ha! Oofff!" Ash said and started to laugh before Misty elbowed him in the gut.

"Watch it buddy," Misty said with an evil glare.

"Heh heh. Fine fine," Ash said.

Ash and May devoured their pancakes hungrily and everyone sweat-dropped at the scene. Eventually everyone was packed up and they set out towards Stone town.

They were walking and talking until suddenly Ash stopped, "Wait."

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked.

Ash tossed a stone onto the ground in front of them and sure enough a pitfall collapsed,

"Ha! I got you this time Team RockET!" Ash yelped out the last part as another pitfall collapsed underneath them.

"For real?!" Drew yelled angrily.

"How do you live with this?" Gary deadpanned from his uncomfortable position.

Ash had a vein pulsing in his head, "I have no clue." Before anyone could say anything more, three familiar voices rang out,

Prepare for Trouble!

and Make it Double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth! That's Right!

_"_Geez, how do you guys not get tired of saying the same thing over and over again?" May asked with annoyance.

"Because twerpette, We live for Team Rocket and it brings us pleasure to bring honor to the Team Rocket name!" Jessie said smiling.

"Honor... right... you forgot the 'dis' in front of that..." Ash muttered.

"WHAT WAS THAT, TWERP!?" The trio yelled.

"Oh... nothing." Ash said in a sing song voice as some of the others snickered at Ash's joke.

"It doesn't matter, We're taking Pikachu!" Meowth declared he looked down at the pit and got confused, "Wait where is Pikachu?"

Ash smiled and pointed behind them where Pikachu was standing after leaping to safety from Ash's shoulder.

"Oh..." Jessie started.

"No..." James turned around.

All three then received a Thunderbolt that sent them flying.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They yelled before disappearing.

"Well at least that incident wasn't as involved as usual," Brock grumbled.

"No kidding," Dawn added.

"Well, They kinda have no chance with their disguise schemes anymore since I can sense their aura, so now they're kinda limited in their choices," Ash smiled.

"I just wanna get out of this hole," Ritchie groaned.

Soon everyone helped each other out of the hole and after dusting themselves off and Pikachu returning to Ash's shoulder, they continued towards Stone town. They finally entered Stone town and noticed there was a big commotion going on in the middle of the town.

"I wonder what's wrong?" Chili asked.

"Only one way to find out," Cress added.

They made their way over to an officer Jenny who was trying to control the crowds,

"Excuse me Miss Jenny could you inform us of the problem at hand?" Cilan asked politely.

The officer turned to them and started to explain, "We've gotten some reports that some of the town's most well known residents have gone missing up on Evolution mountain, everyone is a bit upset about it."

"Who are they?" Iris asked.

"Rainer, Sparky, Pyro, and Mikey, more commonly known as the battling eevee brothers," Jenny replied.

"Oh no!" Ash, Misty, and Brock said at the same time.

Misty then turned and started to run towards the mountain,

"Mist! Wait!" Ash called as he started to run after her.

"I made a promise to Mikey! I can't not do anything!" Misty called behind her as Ash and the others started to follow.

Eventually they got a distance up the mountain and Ash, Misty, and Brock had the opportunity to tell the rest of the group how they knew these people. They continued up while Pikachu hid in Ash's backpack. Ash had given Brock the evolution stones, so Pikachu would have a safe place to hide from the mountain's stones,

"Just hide in there, Pikachu, It'll be okay," Ash said.

"Pika chu..." Pikachu squeaked.

"Don't worry Pikachu, we'll watch after ya!" Max said happily.

"Chaaaa!" Pikachu smiled and slipped back into Ash's backpack.

"Not nearly as many evolved pokemon around here as I thought there would be..." Ritchie commented as they continued.

"Yeah. It's pretty barren up here too. Not many places for a League official to hide," Gary added

"I think we'll have to search someplace else. After we find the Eevee brothers, we can decide our next move," Brock said and everyone nodded in agreement. They rounded a corner and were surprised at what they saw.

The Eevee brothers were facing off with what appeared to be poachers.

Just stop right there!" Sparky yelled.

"You can't win..." Rainer said.

"Against the battling..." Pyro replied.

"Eevee brothers!" Mikey answered.

"Ha! We'll see! Go, Manchamp!" One of the three poachers said.

A Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were also released by the other two poachers.

"Go, Krookodile!"

"Go, Blastoise!"

"Electrivire, Stand-by for battle!"

"Go, Flygon!"

"Go, Milotic!"

Ash, Gary, Paul, Drew, and Misty stood behind their pokemon and both the battling Eevee brothers and the poachers noticed their presence.

"The calvary has arrived!" Ash said with a big grin.

"Drats!" The leader of the poachers exclaimed.

Ash tossed up another couple of pokeballs and both Lucario and Staraptor appeared. Ash instructed them to go down the mountain and get the police. The group and the Eevee brothers then turned towards the poachers.

"Looks like that's that. You're through!" Misty said angrily.

"Hmph! You just think so little missy!" The Leader spoke and then tossed a strange pellet at the two groups and their pokemon,

"Return your pokemon!" Iris said suddenly, when the slightest smell tickled her nose from the pellet and made her aware of what was thrown at them.

Everyone obeyed without question, just as the pellet exploded and a thick yellow powder started to cover the area.

"Misty, hold my hand," Ash said quickly.

"Ash, what do you..." Misty asked.

"Just hold my hand, Mist," Ash said quickly.

Everyone in Ash's group and the Eevee brothers stared at the two as the powder started to make their way towards them and the poachers had placed masks on and had started to retreat. Misty nodded and held Ash's hand, suddenly his pendant started to glow and his eyes flashed blue.

"Lucario's going to scold me for this..." Ash said before holding his hand out in front of him. Suddenly a barrier started to form in a bubble around everyone. After a moment the powder covered them. It was taking a while for the powder to dissipate and Misty started to hear Ash wheeze,

"Ash... Ash! It's okay please drop the shield!" Misty pleaded.

Everyone turned their attention to Ash who was starting to seem strained from his aura use.

"Ashy-Boy, That's enough! We can handle a little stun spore!" Gary spoke getting worried about his rival's labored breathing.

"Yeah man, It's good," Drew spoke.

"Please, Ash..." May asked.

Everyone said something trying to stop him and then finally Misty spoke again,

"Please... Don't do this to me..." Misty said weakly. Misty usually didn't talk so softly. This caused Ash to slowly open his eyes and everyone could now see how intensely blue they were, not just the pupils glowing slightly this time but instead the irises had changed color, now glowing bright blue. Ash smiled slightly and then let out a breath and the shield dropped almost instantly. Brock and Gary grabbed his shoulders as he tried to slump backwards,

"Thank you for protecting us, Ash," Misty spoke before kissing his cheek and watching him fall into unconscious slumber.

Eventually the police came up and Staraptor and Lucario approached Ash as Pikachu peeked out of Ash's backpack and murmured his trainer's nickname.

**Master... For him to work with such an advanced shield practice is dangerous business. He is lucky to have such strong friends like you, especially you Mistress Misty.**

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

**He draws power from you... his emotion to protect you increases if you encourage him. Like I've told you and him before, emotion has great impact on the usage of aura.**

Staraptor approached Lucario and spoke,

"Staraptor! Star!" Staraptor called out.

**Do not fear comrade, luckily he only needs rest.**

Everyone was relieved. Eventually they made their way down the mountain and placed Ash in one of the Eevee brother's mansion's beds. They told their stories to Officer Jenny minus Ash's shield and then once she left they asked the Eevee brothers not to mention Ash's power to anyone and they agreed. After a while Ash walked into the main room everyone was in, rubbing his now returned brown eyes and Pikachu walking at his feet,

"What'd I miss?" Ash asked before being hugged by Misty.

"I'm glad your okay. You keep worrying me so much," Misty said as she backed away.

Everyone else agreed and Ash nodded,

"Okay, I'm sorry," Ash smiled, "I just knew that powder would be nasty once I realized what it was. I guess I over did it trying to keep you guys well."

**You were able to, according to your friends accounts, maintain that shield for an impressive amount of time... but you will need endurance practice as well as learning how to withstand outside pressure since this time it was only powder.**

Everyone then asked Iris how she knew about the powder and she said that she learned to smell the different natural smells of dangerous powders and such made by pokemon and plants. Ash returned Staraptor and Lucario after thanking them and soon night fell and everyone went to bed. In the morning the Eevee brothers were once again thanking the group for their help and giving away gifts,

"Please do take some of these stones," Sparky spoke.

"Yes, your help was most appreciated," Pyro added.

"And being our friends from before, it is our pleasure to give them to you," Rainer said.

"I know you like water pokemon Misty, so here you can have this waterstone," Mikey said smiling, "I'm happy to see you again since we promised to be friends."

"No doubt, and thanks Mikey," Misty said smiling.

May received a moon stone and Dawn was given and sun stone. Then they passed an extra thunder, fire, water, and leaf stone to Ash to place in the bag of stones he already had won for the group.

"You mean to say you intended to share those stones with all of us, when you won them?" Paul asked when Ash explained that the stones were for everyone as Misty, Dawn, and May passed their stones to him,

"Well sure. I can't use this many stones and besides you guys told me to race and cheered me on. We're a team and so we share the spoils," Ash said with a grin.

"Thanks Ash!" Max smiled back.

"No problem, Max," Ash nodded.

Everyone smiled happily and then they got down to the question at hand,

"So where now?" Chili asked, "No token on Evolution mountain."

"Hmmmm..." Gary thought.

"I suppose we could travel through Lavender town and try Rock Tunnel... It's kinda remote. Once we get through, we'd be real close to Cerulean too and maybe Misty would know someplace we could check there," Ash said.

"Hmmmm. I think there is one place. There is a cave. It's usually off limits but maybe for this kinda of competition it would be open. It's been there forever. It looks over the river that runs into the ocean at Cerulean Cape," Misty replied.

Everyone agreed that that sounded like a good plan, since really they couldn't think of many other places left that would fit the clue. Then they heard that there was a festival going on the Stone town so they decided to stay for one more night and enjoy themselves.

Soon they were walking through the streets picking up street food and having a grand time. Ash was eating a shish-kabob,

"Careful or you'll choke yourself, you knucklehead!" Misty said to her boyfriend.

"Hey with food and pokemon, Ima professional," Ash said before taking another huge bite.

"Ack!" Drew suddenly choked and May patted him on the back to help him swallow right

"See? Drew still needs more practice," Ash smiled cheekily.

Everyone laughed and continued walking until they reached a place they could sit down. Ash was about to sit down when suddenly he stopped and stared in another direction.

"Ash? Something wrong?" Misty asked.

"Please don't let it be Team Rocket," Iris groaned.

"No. It's fine, but I do need to check on something," Ash said before standing up.

"I'll come with you," Misty said then Ash turned around,

"No. It's okay, I'll be back soon," Ash said smiling and sitting her back down, "Order for me and I'll be back by the time it comes," Ash nodded and then walked off.

"I wonder what he's up to?" May asked.

"Is that one of those unanswerable questions, Brock?" Cilan asked.

"No doubt," Brock replied and everyone laughed.

Suddenly a couple guys walked up,

"Hey you were one of the trainers to made it to the top 8 in the Lilly of the Valley conference!" One of the two spoke, "My name's Will and this here is my pal Vince."

Paul turned around along with everyone else to face them

"It's nice to meet you," Cress replied.

Everyone introduced themselves then Will spoke again,

"I was wondering if we could have a battle? Just a one-on-one real quick. I want to see how good I do against the highest ranking competitor I can find," Will grinned.

"Technically you would need to ask Ash then since he was the one who beat Paul," Max blurted out his know how before thinking. Paul then gave Max a glare.

"Oh, You mean Ash Ketchum is here?" Will asked.

After a moment of trying to make Paul not as mad at Max, Misty spoke, "Well yes he was, but he left to go do something. He'll be back after a while."

"Oh I see. I'd love to battle him! He beat my brother in an awesome battle!" Will said smiling.

"Oh, who's your brother?" Cress asked.

"The Orange Islands' own Drake! Ash became the Orange Island Champion by beating my brother!" Will grinned.

"Oh! Your brother's Drake!" Misty said she explained in more detail the battle and Drake to everyone.

"Yeah! That's why it would be great to battle him!" Will smiled.

"How about you battle me, instead? If you can beat the runner up to your little mind competition then you can try to beat Ash," Paul said standing up and glaring at Max when he said 'runner up'.

"Paul, Max didn't mean to insult you..." Dawn said frowning.

"Yeah. Sometimes my brother just opens his mouth without thinking," May said looking at Max

"Yeah, Paul I really am sorry. You're a really strong trainer and after meeting you and having you on our team I'm starting to look up to you just like I do Ash," Max said

Paul eyed him for a moment and then spoke, "Okay... but I still want to prove that Ash isn't the only one who has grown more powerful."

Dawn smiled and everyone seemed happy that Paul wasn't taking Max's slip up too harshly.

"Hmmm... Okay I guess that's fine. How about we move over here to this field. It's still where your friends can sit and eat, but far enough away that we won't bother them with our battle," Will smiled.

"Sounds fine," Paul said as he walked over to his side. Gary came over and decided to referee. Dawn couldn't help but smile when Paul hadn't denied that they were his friends.

"Okay, This will be a one-on-one battle between Paul Rebolledo and Will Yusa, once either side's pokemon is unable to battle a winner will be declared! Trainers, choose your pokemon!" Gary said.

"Okay! Let's go, Dragonair!" Will called his pokemon.

"Froslass, Stand-by for battle!" Paul replied.

"Begin!" Gary yelled.

"Dragonspulse!" Will yelled.

"Icywind!" Paul replied.

The attacks collided and then Will smiled,

"Flamethrower!"

The Dragonpulse switched into a Flamethrower and soon started to eat at the Icywind,

"Switch to Ominous wind!" Paul said, trying to recover from the surprise super-effective move.

Froslass obeyed and the ghostly wind collided with the flamethrower and some sped past to hit Dragonair. Paul noticed a slight glow overtake Froslass after using the move.

"Use Flamethrower full power!" Will said. The flame started to grow and obscure Will's side of the field. Suddenly, "Irontail!" A steely tail whipped out from the firestorm and slammed Froslass hard. It went reeling and fell to the ground near Paul's feet.

As the fire settled, Will was smiling back, "Maybe Ash isn't so strong if he only hand to beat you."

Everyone sitting got a little perturbed,

"He's just like Drake, Drake just kept telling Ash that he wasn't strong enough," Misty frowned.

Then they heard Paul's voice, "Get up, Froslass... I know you're stronger than that."

Everyone else didn't seem to notice how amazing this was. Dawn smiled knowing that that was one of the only times she had ever heard Paul encourage his pokemon positively. She looked over and saw Brock smiling a little more than normal.

Froslass then got up, "Hail." Paul said staring at the Dragonair and its trainer.

The frozen ice started to fall and Will eyed Paul with confusion, that look would soon be replaced with awe,

"Blizzard!" Paul commanded and Froslass shot forward.

"Irontail again," Will said almost bored,

Dragonair swung hard at the incoming Froslass, only for the attack to seemingly pass through. Froslass then, at point blank, shot a powerful Blizzard into Dragonair's face. Dragonair fell and didn't get up.

"Dragonair is unable to battle, Paul and Froslass are the winners!" Gary spoke.

Will returned his pokemon and Paul then turned to his, "Thank you. Take a rest." He said plainly before returning his pokemon and facing his opponent who was approaching,

"I guess I was wrong, you really are tough. I'll defiantly have to find the time to battle Ash someday," Will said as they shook hands,

"Never underestimate an opponent... I made that mistake myself," Paul said and smiled ever so slightly as Will and Vince waved goodbye and walked off.

"Nice strategy there. Your Ominous wind powered you up and then you used Froslass's ability Snow Cloak to your advantage, to dodge that second Iron tail and then finish up with that Hail and Blizzard combo," Gary commented as they both sat back down with the others.

"Yes. I was a bit surprised by the range of moves that his Dragonair knew. He had a good plan for dealing with ice types," Paul nodded and took a sip of his drink.

"I like his style!" Iris smiled.

"You're almost as bad with ice types as Misty is with bug types," Ritchie added.

Everyone laughed, albeit some nervously, and then the food came.

"I wonder where Ash is? He said he'd be back by now," Misty spoke before turning around and seeing Ash grinning like a mad man and walking towards them.

"Why are you so happy?" Drew asked.

"Because..." Ash said with a smile, "I won!" He said and sat down. He placed a pokeball in front of Misty.

Misty looked at him confused for a moment,

"It's for you Mist! Go ahead and let her out," Ash smiled.

Misty nodded and then released the pokemon. An Eevee soon sat with a bow on the edge of the table, wagging its tail. Misty just stared.

"Uh, Mist? Do you like her? I thought I remembered that you always wanted a Vaporeon and I'm pretty sure this Eevee said she'd be willing to evolve into one once it got to know you... Mist?" Ash asked.

Misty turned to him and smiled before hugging him tightly, "Thank you, I love it!" Misty said happily.

"I'm glad! You wouldn't believe how stupid I looked trying to win that mini-game! I had to climb up one of those ladders on its side that turns and flips. I thought I was a good climber but apparently that doesn't apply to festival booths," Ash said as he rubbed his head with his free hand and Pikachu snickered at him.

Everyone laughed and Misty then smiled at him, "Really... Thanks Ash. It was a really sweet gift."

Ash smiled and passed Pikachu some ketchup, "No problem. It makes me all fuzzy and warm when you smile and you're happy. So it's a win-win here."

They kissed quickly and then everyone started eating. Finally after some other goofy activities and a retelling of Paul's battle to Ash, they started walking back to the pokemon center.

zzzzzzzzzzz

In the morning they said goodbye to the Eevee brothers and started to travel down route 15 towards Lavender town. They reached a field over-looking the ocean and decided to relax. Everyone released their newest pokemon so that they could all get used to one another. Chinchou and Magikarp enjoyed swimming together in a nearby pond, Tangela, Slowpoke and Paras rested in the grass, Eevee, Rhyhorn, Nidoran, Nidorino, Zorua, Pikachu, Piplup, and Oddish were all enjoying a game of tag, Girafarig and Kingdra were watching near the pond. The problem arose with Kangaskhan,

"Hey Kangaskhan. I know we got off to a rough start, but I really want to get to know you," Iris said happily. Kangaskhan turned its head and looked away, the child in it's pouch hid.

"Hmmm. This Kangaskhan seems to not be the most sociable of pokemon," Cilan commented.

"I hope she gets to liking us," Max added.

"I sure she will, Max," Brock nodded as he helped the Striation brothers serve lunch.

Kangaskhan went and sat by itself to eat while everyone else sat down together.

"Hmmm. I wish Kangaskhan wouldn't sit by itself. It makes me sad," Dawn frowned.

"Yeah," Iris sighed.

May got up, much to Drew's worry, and walked over to Kangaskhan,

"Hey, you should come join us. We just want to be your friends," May said with a smile and then after being glared at by Kangaskhan long enough, she returned to her seat.

"Well, It was a good try," Gary nodded before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Mmhm," Misty nodded.

"Maybe it's still mad it got caught? I remember Cruise was that way with me for a while." Ritchie commented.

"I suppose that seems possible," Cress nodded.

"Then how will we make it not mad?" Chili butted in.

"I guess just wait it out and show her we really do want to be it's friends," Ash said after a drink of his beverage.

"I guess," Drew shrugged.

"The only problem with the waiting game is it can end up doing more harm than good, sometimes," Paul spoke before sipping his drink. He seemed to slip into a bit of brief thought before the next voice broke him out of it.

Everyone nodded and looked back at Kangaskhan.

"Hey Zorua?" Ash suddenly asked.

**Yes, Master?** She spoke before a bit of food fell from her small muzzle.

"You think you and Pikachu could go over the Kangaskhan and see what the problem is?" Ash asked.

**Sure! Come on, Pikachu! Let's make a new friend!** Zorua bounded happily over with Pikachu following behind.

"Yeah, Maybe Pikachu and Zorua can figure this out," Misty smiled.

"I hope so," Iris nodded.

Pikachu and Zorua then came back over.

"Well?" Ash asked.

**Kangaskhan isn't happy because she thinks she got caught by a weak trainer...**

"WHAT!?" Iris yelled.

"Why would Kangaskhan think that?" Ash asked.

Drew suddenly spoke up, "Oh! Maybe it's because Kangaskhan saw Cilan carrying Iris. She had hurt her ankle and looked, 'weak'," Drew said with quotation fingers when he said weak.

"I suppose that could be the cause," Gary said putting his chin in his hand.

"I guess I'll just have to show her otherwise! With a pokemon battle!" Iris said.

Everyone smiled and nodded as they finished lunch. They returned their pokemon, Ash thanked Zorua, before returning her, and everyone got ready to watch Iris battle with Kangaskhan.

"Okay, Go Dragonite!" Iris said with a smile. Her strong pokemon came out and roared at its opponent. The Kangaskhan roared back. It's child jumped out and ran over the sit next to Pikachu.

"Okay, Dragonite! Start out with a Thunderpunch!" Iris yelled.

Dragonite sped forward and was about to strike when suddenly Kangaskhan landed a lightning fast Sucker punch. Dragonite flew backwards and waited for the next command.

"Uggh. Should've seen that one coming. Okay, try a Flamethrower!"

Fire shot forth from Dragonite's mouth and came closer to striking Kangaskhan until, Kangaskhan built energy up in its mouth and suddenly a powerful Surf came pouring out. The water consumed the Flamethrower and almost hit Dragonite until it flew up. Kangaskhan growled and it's eyes glowed white before a Rockslide came tumbling down, striking Dragonite and forcing it down into the water that was still raging,

"Dragonite, No!" Iris yelled.

"Geez, That Kangaskhan is brutal!" Gary said.

"It's very powerful," Ash said once his eyes stopped glowing.

"I hope Iris can pull through," Misty frowned.

"I'm sure she can, she is training to be a dragon master after all," Cilan spoke. They then heard Iris call out again.

Kangaskhan had been frozen by Dragonite's Ice beam after Dragonite had pulled itself back up out of the torrent.

"Okay, Dragon Rush!" Iris said.

Dragonite approached the frozen Kangaskhan with its blue aura surrounding it for a Dragon Rush attack, suddenly Kangaskhan broke free using an Outrage attack.

"Skhan!" It roared and charged before colliding with Dragonite. They struggled against one another for a moment before Dragonite fell to one knee. They continued pressing against each other with their attacks though.

"You can do it, Dragonite!" Iris called out.

Dragonite roared and pushed hard against Kangaskhan it then used a Thunderpunch into Kangaskhan's mid section. For a moment, neither pokemon moved as their attacks started to fade, then Kangaskhan groaned and fell forward.

"Great job, Dragonite!" Iris called out and ran forward to her pokemon. She thanked Dragonite and returned him before turning to Kangaskhan who was sitting up and staring at her. Iris smiled and then walked away. She picked up the baby Kangaskhan and ignored the growling of the mother as she stepped back towards her,

"Here you are," Iris said as she placed the baby back in Kangaskhan's pouch.

Kangaskhan stopped growling and stared at her more in silence, finally it simply nodded. Iris then nodded back. She soon returned Kangaskhan and everyone congratulated her on her battle. Everyone then packed up once more, returned their pokemon, and set off towards Lavender town again. After a while they saw a good place to stay for the night and settled down over looking the docks below. They decided to spend tomorrow relaxing on the piers and get to Lavender the day after.

"Hey Ash?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, Mist?" Ash replied.

Everyone was resting near their sleeping bags and the campfire, getting ready for bed.

"You said everyone has a unique aura, right?" Misty asked.

"Yep," Ash nodded.

"What does mine look like?" Misty replied.

Everyone turned to listen as they too became curious. Ash was silent for a moment,

"Well you know... I've never been asked that so I don't really know how or if I can answer, but I'll try my hardest to describe it to you," Ash nodded and then closed his eyes, "Mist... Yours is like a seafoam blue... It swirls and makes waves like the ocean."

"How about mine?" May asked excitedly.

Ash nodded and then started talking again, "Yours is a warm maroon color, May... It sort of just radiates out from you."

Ash then continued and started telling everyone what their aura looked like.

"Brock, yours is brown and it seems to rest around you. It doesn't move much, its calm."

"Gary, yours is white and flicks around like fire."

"Max, yours is green-ish yellow and it seems to spin around you like a whirlwind."

"Drew, yours is a dark green and it waves like the branches in a tree."

"Paul, yours is lavender colored and it comes off of you in waves."

"Dawn, yours is dark blue and it bubbles up and pops every now and then."

"Cilan, yours is wintergreen and is calm like Brock's."

"Cress, yours is purple and it floats around you calmly and ebbs and flows like the tides."

"Chili, yours is yellow and it is very energetic and goes from calm to static."

"Iris, yours is pink and it looks a lot like fire but acts more like a Dragonpulse."

"Ritchie, yours is orange and it floats around you calmly and will ignite like a fire sometimes."

Ash finished and opened his eyes to everyone nodding with smiles on.

"Wow... That's so interesting. What about yours, Ash. We saw it once when you had eaten those donuts, but what does it look like normally?" Misty asked rubbing his arm.

"Well... It's hard to say. I can't really look at myself and I can't see aura in reflections, so... I don't know."

Misty nodded in understanding. Everyone then started talking about other things like how they were going to train their pokemon. Finally they started to drift to sleep.

zzzzzzz

In the morning, they made their way down to the pier. Everyone started to notice that there were couples everywhere fishing, relaxing, and kissing. They walked up to someone who had the appearance of a scientist and was gazing at the sea,

"Excuse me sir, we were just wondering what was going on here," Brock asked the man as they approached.

"Oh! Well there is supposed to be a migration of Luvdisc that are coming through... The couples want to have true and lasting love so they've come to see them..." The man said before continuing in a lower voice, "But I want to see if any Phione or Manaphy show up... They are supposed to guide some migrations, especially around this area when the legend of Samiya is supposed to be near here..."

They nodded and thanked him and started to walk off,

"Ash, Brock, Max... You don't think that man was talking about the Sea Temple do you?" May asked with a little reserved hope.

Ash and Brock explained to everyone their story of Manaphy and the Sea Temple and then continued their conversation,

"Maybe... I remember that Samiya is supposed to drift with the currents," Brock responded.

"Maybe if we stay we'll see Manaphy," Ash smiled at May.

"Yeah! That would make me so happy," May smiled back.

During the day they all swam and had a good time. Misty and Ash had an entertaining race on their Kingdra as well.

"Ha ha! Can't catch me, Misty!" Ash yelled as he shot past getting everyone, even some others not in swimsuits, wet.

"In your dreams, Ketchum!" Misty shouted as she also rocketed past.

"Such little kids!" Iris yelled as they disappeared.

"That's Ash for ya, He starts to rub off on ya whether you want it too or not," Gary said as he walked back to the group, being the only one not wet.

"Hey, did you catch a pokemon?" Max asked noticing Gary was tossing a pokeball up and down.

"Yep! An Exeggcute. I needed a strong grass type," Gary nodded.

"Nice," Drew smiled.

"Dinner time!" Brock suddenly yelled and everyone crowded around to sit and eat. Ash and Misty came up to the group last.

"Oh boy!" Ash said as he sat with his food.

"Now don't forget not to swim for thirty minutes after eating," Cilan said calmly as he sat with his brothers.

"You guys did it again! Delicious!" Ritchie smiled and everyone agreed. Brock and the Striation brothers added their thanks.

"Hey. There's the Luvdisc," Paul said nonchalantly.

"He's right, look!" Dawn said.

Everyone turned to see the sight. Luvdisc were jumping and swimming nearby and the couples were pointing and smiling. Ash's group continued to watch. Ash and Misty shared a quick kiss. Night began to fall and many if not all of the people, besides Ash's group, had left.

May sighed as she stared back at the sea.

"You'll see him again," Drew said simply.

May looked up and smiled, "Yeah... I guess I just really thought I would see him."

"No need to worry!" Dawn said happily.

Suddenly one last pair of Luvdisc shot into the air...

Drew's hand was resting on May's...

Dawn had placed a hand on Paul's shoulder...

Ash and Misty held hands...

Iris was helping Cilan clean up from dinner and their hands touched...

zzzzzz

Off in the woods unbeknownst to the group Team Rocket was watching and James fell forward and his hand touched Jessie's and their eyes locked...

zzzzzz

Finally time seemed to speed back up to normal and the Luvdisc fell back into the sea...

"*Sniff* *Sniff* Why can't I find love!?" Brock suddenly yelled, bringing the attention of the rest of the group.

"Don't worry, Brocko. Us bachelors will find someone someday and it'll be great! Love like that is worth waiting for," Gary smiled at his team mate and friend.

"I'll pass," Max said waving his hand.

Ritchie chuckled, "We'll see..."

"Are you implying something, Brock?" Paul asked suddenly with a scowl after Dawn had taken her hand from his shoulder.

"Uhhhhhhhh. Nope nothing at all!" Chili said quickly, sweat-dropping and nodding with Cress when Cilan glared at them both.

Everyone then got ready for bed. Pikachu curled up next to Ash as he slid down into his sleeping bag. Everyone called out goodnight to one another and Paul murmured something.

zzzzzzzz

Halfway through the next day they arrived on the outskirts of Lavender town.

"Hold up," Ash said suddenly.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty asked with worry.

"Not Team Rocket, again," Ritchie moaned.

"Well... Not exactly," Ash said and they moved forward from the underbrush to get a good view of Lavender town without being seen. They then saw something that shocked them. Team Rocket Grunts were milling around everywhere. No one else was on the streets. Two guards could be seen guarding a warehouse nearby and four could be seen guarding the Lavender tower.

"Holy crap," Drew hissed under his breath.

"Where the heck are the G-men? This is kinda hard to not notice," Gary whispered.

Everyone who didn't know was told who the G-men are.

"Surely Lance would be coming soon," Paul said with confusion.

"Maybe he somehow doesn't know yet? The word hasn't reached his ears?" May asked.

"I guess it's possible," Brock murmured.

Everyone then got real quiet as two grunts passed by,

"So did Executive Vane say how long we were going to be stationed here?" One of the two grunts asked.

"Naw, Just until he gets as much info out of that old man in the tower as he can," The other grunt answered.

"Well, I hope he stops playing around. I don't wanna be here when Lance and the G-men catch on to what's going on," The first replied.

"No kidding, but at least the boss will be safe so long as the card keys to the tower are safe in the warehouse," The second added.

They passed and continued talking.

"So, now what?" Iris asked.

"We can't just leave, can we?" Chili asked.

"Right. We do something about it," Ash said with determination in his eyes.

"Are you out of your mind, Ash?" Gary asked, confused.

"I second that," Misty retorted

"You heard the grunt! We get the card key from that warehouse over there and then we go up the tower and stop this Vane guy," Ash said, turning to the whole group who were now in a group huddle.

"Um. Are you not forgetting the last time we faced off against a _couple_ of grunts? This is Team Rocket! We almost got shot and you almost got crushed," Drew growled.

"I must concur with Drew, we seem to be at a severe disadvantage." Cilan spoke with Cress nodding.

"But... What about that poor old man?" Dawn asked suddenly and everyone went quiet.

"What if we have the chance to save him and we don't and he pays for our mistake?" Ash asked everyone, "Trust me... If they were occupying a beach shack, I'd move on... but people are in danger here. What if Lance and the G-men come too late?"

Everyone sat in silence for a moment.

"If we're going to do this, we might as well do it for the people of Lavender town," Paul said surprisingly.

"Fine. I guess I couldn't really be happy with myself if I left now," Drew nodded.

Everyone else agreed and then Gary spoke,

"We need a good plan."

"And a place to hide, this won't be accomplished in one day," Brock added.

Everyone then started walking back towards the hills. They walked up the tall mountain behind the town and towards the way they had come from. Soon Iris found a cave hidden in the roots of a very large tree.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Iris said pointing to their new base of operations.

Everyone grinned and made their way inside, only to encounter many wild pokemon hiding. Pikachu explained to them that these pokemon had run from the area surrounding Lavender so they could escape Team Rocket. Pikachu then told the pokemon that they were here to help. The pokemon then took it upon themselves to guard the safe house and the group's belongings. Everyone then sat down for to make their plan.

"So obviously we need to get at least one card key," Cress spoke first.

"Yeah," May nodded.

"Problem is they're in that warehouse," Gary pointed out.

"So we just go get one," Ash said quickly.

"Yeah that's a good idea, we'll walk up and ask politely if we can have a card key. That will go over well," Drew said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah Ash! Stop with the little kid plans," Iris snorted.

"No, you don't understand. You can ask for one, or at least get close enough to steal one, if you're in disguise," Ash smiled.

"You know... That just might work! I remember Lance did that a few times in situations like these," Brock said.

"Yeah, but how are we all going to get a uniform?" Max asked.

"Ummm. Good question," Dawn answered.

"We don't all need one. That would be a give away," Gary said quickly.

"Okay so one person?" Chili asked.

"Sounds right," Cilan said.

"But who?" Ritchie asked.

"I'll do it," Ash said suddenly, getting everyone to look his way.

"Oh no. You will over my dead body!" Misty stared at him and he looked into her eyes.

"Look Mist, I've done it before like two other times within the last year. I know how they work on the inside and can trick them. I know what to expect," Ash said.

"You what!?" Gary asked suddenly.

"I already kind of told you guys I've been kinda fighting Team Rocket. I've just had the opportunity to go on the inside a couple times," Ash spoke calmly.

"Ok... Never mind I don't want to know, but I guess that makes sense since you said yourself that you know how to work in there," Gary said holding up his hands.

"You aren't going," Misty said still staring at him.

"Mist, I promise, I'll be okay," Ash smiled at her and after a moment she sighed.

"Okay, I never could change your mind on almost anything and I guess I still can't," Misty said with a sad smile.

"Would you respect me as much otherwise?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

Misty smiled, "I guess not."

"Okay well the problem of who's going is solved, but now how do we get a uniform?" Drew asked.

"That, is the easy part," Ash said and then winked he turned around and reached into his backpack. Soon he pulled out parts to a full Rocket uniform.

"Whoa," Max said.

"I ummm. Got one off somebody, you could say," Ash grinned and rubbed his head.

"Impressive," Paul said simply.

Eventually they all decided to go to sleep and infiltrate the Warehouse in the morning.

zzzzzzzzzz

The morning soon came and after a quiet breakfast, Ash went to change into his uniform. Pikachu was told he had to stay with the group to not raise any suspicion.

He walked up to them in the uniform.

_She knew Ash was just going to be playing a part... She had even seen him in a Team Rocket uniform before... not necessarily this version of the uniform, but... No it wasn't the idea, it was something else entirely... She figured it out after Gary chastised Ash for smiling, telling him Team Rocket members didn't smile like that, which was true... He pulled his smile and face into a look of indifference... He almost didn't look like Ash anymore... Ash was a gentle and kind person... but through all that, Misty had almost forgotten that he was a young man now. He was taller and stronger than her... he intimidated her for the first time since she fished him out of that river. The tight fitting black and gray suit pressed against his figure and exposed curves where his muscles came through, mostly around his chest. The equally black hat came down over part of his eyes, hiding the glow she was used to seeing in them. His scowl, helped created by Gary gave the illusion of power and was greatly intimidating. Seeing him like this, maybe the closest thing she'd ever see to him being her enemy... Made her scared... Then Drew said something stupid about Ash looking like Paul's copy with that scowl on, and Ash's face turned into a one filled with happy laughter. As the others worked to calm Paul down, Misty started to smile. Though seeing Ash in a new light had scared her... It had done something else good for her as well. Being able to compare him with that frightening scowl and then with a face with laughter erupting from it... Helped her to appreciate who he was. She was grateful for knowing him... For him being the nice and caring person he was... She pledged to herself at that moment, to try and never take him or any of her friends, for that matter, for granted._

"Yeah. We're doomed... There's no way that Ash can keep a serious face now," Misty said finally joining the conversation.

"Aww, come on Mist! I can do it! Really! *snicker*" Ash replied.

"Right," Misty said looking unimpressed.

"I've got this! This isn't my first rodeo you know!" Ash said with a grin.

"Well... I suppose you're right. Just be careful, okay?" Misty said.

"You've got it!" Ash replied with a thumbs-up, wink, and a happy grin. _I love that smile of his..._ Misty thought as everyone continued to walk through the plan once more.

"Okay if I flash two fingers then I got the card key, one means I had to abort, and three means trouble, understand?" Ash informed.

"If you flash three fingers should we show ourselves and fight?" Max asked.

"No. If I flash three fingers two times then everything is blown and we either run or fight like you said. If I flash three fingers only once then I just need some cover to escape, a smokescreen or attack explosion from the forest should be enough," Ash nodded.

Everyone nodded in response and then silently made their way back to the outskirts. Ash was then about to leave.

"Come back safe," Misty said.

"I will I promise," Ash smiled and then they shared a kiss. Ash flashed a salute and then walked out into the streets.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz-With Ash-zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash walked rigidly. He was doing a pretty good job of blending in. His scowl, his posture were good for Team Rocket. He was thinking about how he was going to convince them to let a random grunt into the warehouse, when suddenly another grunt approached him. A young girl...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-With the Group-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Wow Ash really does have some experience. He almost completely blends in. I wouldn't know he was there if I didn't know him," Ritchie spoke.

"I have to agree," Gary nodded.

Everyone watched closely as he made his way towards the warehouse, when suddenly a female grunt approached him.

"Uh oh," Chili said.

"What do we do?" Misty asked.

"I think we just need to wait and see if Ash can handle this," Paul said.

"Yeah. We have to trust he can handle it," Brock nodded and everyone watched.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-With Ash-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Excuse me," The female grunt spoke as she approached him...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Sorry for the cliffy! I'll try and get the next chapter up soon :)**

**Stay tuned to see how our heroes deal with Team Rocket!**


	14. We are a Team

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"..." Ash didn't answer but turned her way to show she had his attention.

"I'm kinda lost... I just joined a week ago and just today I arrived here to help capture the town. Would you mind showing me around? I need help finding my way," She spoke.

Ash grinned letting his canine show, "Of course... I'd love to help a pretty girl like you." Ash growled at himself, _Rocket Scum why do they all act that way? Geez I hate this... I sound like some creepy guy... She's got to be almost five years my minor too... Why do they join so young? I feel bad for her._ Ash thought as he gave her his arm and she slipped hers through.

"Thanks, my name's Cory by the way," She said with reserve. Ash could feel that she was uncomfortable, but had to continue on. He gave her silence and she didn't speak much anymore.

They approached the door of the Warehouse where the two guards were.

"Hey, state your business!" One of them said.

"Just escorting this young lady around... She's new and needs someone to show her the ropes..." Ash said with a meaningful smile, _Nasty. Ima have to wash my mouth with two bars of soap after this..._

The guard looked at the girl and then at Ash with a knowing and crooked grin, "I see. Go ahead then... Be my guest."

Ash and Cory made their way into the Warehouse.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-With the Group-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Well they're in now," Drew sighed.

"Yeah," May said.

"I wonder who that girl was?" Dawn asked.

"Who knows, maybe she's new?" Cress asked.

"Probably," Brock nodded.

"Well it's up to Ash now," Gary said.

Everyone nodded and awaited the return of their friend.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-With Ash-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash and Cory walked down the corridor silently at first and then Ash broke the silence,

"Here is our small base of operations for the time being. You will mostly be stationed here or in town. The tower is being controlled by only the higher ranked at the moment. The card keys for the tower are being guarded here. Any questions?"

"Uh. Why are we here?" Cory asked.

Ash spoke quickly, "To retrieve important information from a native of this town."

"What kind of information?" Cory asked.

"Hmph. How would I know? I'm just a grunt. Those specifics aren't passed down to us. Get used to being out of the loop," Ash grumbled, _Way out of the loop in my case_.

"Oh," Cory said looking down.

"Why are you here?" Ash asked, _Ash! Stop it!_

"Huh? I was assigned here," Cory replied.

"No, why... did you join Team Rocket?" Ash asked, _What the hell are you doing? You're getting in too deep. You'll blow your cover... Or help someone... Gah!_

"Oh?" Cory looked at him with uncertainly, "Well... I was raised at an orphanage... I wanted to become a pokemon trainer but the orphanage didn't endorse that so I ran away, but because I didn't have parents I couldn't get permission to receive a pokemon from a Professor at my age. Then I found out Team Rocket let you have a pokemon so... I... I joined," Cory frowned, finishing.

"Oh. I see," Ash said, simply hiding the anger and sadness he felt, _Poor girl... She could've turned out to be an okay kid if someone had given her a chance..._

They walked in silence for a while until they reached a hallway,

"Well I have orders to continue on down, but you need to find a place to stand guard. Watch for anyone trying to come into the Warehouse or the town," Ash spoke.

"Oh well, thanks for your help," Cory said as Ash started to walk away.

Ash stopped before continuing and turned slightly so she could see some of his face,

"Hey, Cory?"

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Don't give up on your dream... To be a trainer. This place... It isn't for you. Get out now before it becomes you," Ash said with a kind and warm smile.

Cory stared at him in shock for a moment. Then a smile formed on her face, "Okay," She whispered loud enough for him to hear. They then parted ways as Ash made his way further into the Warehouse.

Ash continued for a while until he reached the bottom; there he saw the room with all the card keys. In front of them were five grunts playing cards at a table.

"Damn," Ash said under his breath. He stayed hidden behind the wall of the hallway. He then used his aura to sense everything in the bottom floor. It was only them down here, that was at least something positive. "What would be a good reason for coming to get a card key?" He asked himself. Suddenly an idea formed. He walked out of his hiding place and confronted the five grunts,

"Hey! What are you doing down here?" One of them asked as he rose.

Ash looked at him and spoke, "I need a card key."

"What for? We didn't hear nothing about anybody needing a card key," Another replied.

Ash sighed, "Vane wants me to escort a rookie up the tower."

"Hmph, since when is Vane letting rookies up the tower?" Another asked.

"She's a looker," Ash said simply. Suddenly the faces of the grunts changed, _Geez are all Rockets like this?_

"Oh. I see," The first said. He turned around and grabbed a card key and handed it to Ash, "Vane should know he ain't the only bored one," The grunt growled and the rest agreed.

"Eh, whatever keeps him from keeping his attention on us, the better in my opinion," Ash retorted and the grunts all laughed, _Diverting attention... How ironic. Heh heh._ Ash couldn't help but muse internally.

"Good one mate, never thought of that before!" One snorted.

The first walked up to Ash and put his arm around his shoulders, "I like you, What's your name again?"

Ash froze, he hadn't thought of a name with his disguise. He then said something quick,

"My name's Cole." Ash said, _Geez nice one Ash, Coal, Cole. Real smart. Hope he buys it. At least it's better than Tom Ato... I'm getting better at this._

"Hmmm. Nice to meet ya. Can't say I've seen you around before. My name's Jeremy," Jeremy said.

Ash just about had a heart attack and tried to discreetly tilt his hat over his face to obscure it. _Of course the guy got out of prison and now he's standing next to me, the guy that put him in prison. Perfect._

"Well, I know you've got a job to do, but If you get the time come and play cards with us," Jeremy smiled.

"Sure. If Vane doesn't make me do more of his little errands," Ash retorted.

All five grunts laughed and Jeremy turned to the others, "I love this guy!"

Ash smiled and turned away. _If only you knew, Heh heh._

Ash made his way out of the Warehouse and nodded to the guards. He kept walking until he was behind a building. He turned to the forest and flashed two fingers to show he had the card. He disappeared into the underbrush to rejoin his friends.

zzzzzzzzzzz-Everyone again-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Ash! Thank goodness!" Misty said and hugged him.

"So was it tricky?" Max asked with big eyes.

"It actually went pretty well," Ash smiled and then fished out the card and showed everyone.

"Nice," Gary smiled.

They then all made their way back to their safe-house to plan the next step of their plan. Ash told them everything that happened in the Warehouse and that they needed to work quickly tomorrow since someone is bound to notice the card is missing. Ash changed out of the uniform. They started to discuss the plan,

"We need a distraction so that we can get into the tower and past the four guards," Ritchie said.

"Yeah and then what about the bazillion grunts inside?" Chili said next.

"Well I'll be able to sense where they all are, but as for confronting them... I don't know," Ash said

Drew seemed to be in deep thought.

"The good news is if we need to make a quick escape, then we can fly away on our pokemon instead of being trapped underground," Paul spoke getting nods from everyone.

"We need two teams," Drew said finally.

"What do you mean, Drew?" May asked.

Everyone turned to him,

"One team to cause a major, and I mean major, distraction. One that would pull almost all their resources from the second team. Then the second group could enter when the tower is on the back burner, priority wise," Drew finished.

"Not a bad idea, but it is risky and many things could go wrong," Gary said.

"This whole thing is kinda risky though," Dawn said.

"True," Cress agreed and Cilan nodded.

"Okay that sounds like our best plan for now, who will be the two teams? I'm going in the tower," Ash said.

"Max you should be on the distraction team," May said, turning to her younger brother.

"Huh? Why?" Max asked seemingly sad.

"Because, you're my little brother and aren't as prepared for something like this. I think I'm staying too," May said.

"I'm going with you, Ash," Misty said suddenly.

"But Mist," Ash started.

"No buts," Misty said.

"Fine. Just be careful, Okay?" Ash asked.

"I promise," Misty smiled.

Eventually the groups were decided. Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary, Drew, Paul, and Ritchie were going in the tower and May, Max, Dawn, Cilan, Cress, Chili, and Iris were going to be the distraction team. It turned out that the teams were good choices because Team Rocket wouldn't recognize anyone in the distraction team, except _maybe_ May and Max or Cilan and Iris, so they wouldn't tip off to the fact that Ash and the rest were attacking elsewhere. Everyone fell asleep with a bit of unease but sheer determination in their hearts.

zzzzzzz

The next morning everyone was quiet. They ate breakfast in silence and then started to finally talk about the plan more,

"Here, May," Ash said, taking his pendent off, "When we are in position, I'll make it glow and then you guys start the distraction, okay?"

"Okay," May nodded as she placed the pendent around her neck.

"Be careful everyone," Iris spoke.

"We will," Gary nodded.

"You too, okay?" Drew said looking at May but supposedly referring to everyone.

Everyone nodded and then went their separate ways.

zzzzzzzzz-Tower Group-zzzzzzzzzz

They made their way over to the forest nearest to the tower, trying not to be seen. Pikachu hid in Ash's backpack, ready to leap out when they reached the top of the tower. Finally they settled themselves in position and waited to see their plan start. Ash focused and made his pendent glow.

zzzzzzzzz-The Distraction Group-zzzzzzzzz

They got closer and closer to an area where they could be prepared to start an assault. May then felt and saw Ash's pendent glow.

"Okay the others are ready," May said.

"Well, Here goes nothing I suppose," Cilan said with determination on his face.

"Right," Max nodded.

"Let's go," Iris said.

They rose and started heading into the town and released their pokemon.

zzzzzzzzzzz-Tower Group-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash and the others suddenly noticed activity pick up in their area. They could hear explosions in the distance and shouting became more and more common. Eventually all but one guard was left at the tower entrance.

"Go, Butterfree!" Ash said, "Use Sleep powder."

Butterfree drifted over above the grunt and soon dowsed him with the powder. Soon he was in a heap on the ground. Everyone then nodded and moved forward. Ash walked up and swiped the card key and they soon were in the tower. They started talking in low voices when they noticed no one seemed to be on the first floor,

"I wonder where they are?" Ritchie asked.

"So long as they aren't here, I'm happy," Drew snorted.

"They probably are focused on the higher floors with all this happening. They don't have as many people here now," Paul commented.

"No doubt," Gary nodded.

"The stairs are over there," Brock pointed and everyone soon followed. Though Ash had been inside once before, he has flown through the floors as a ghost not walked them. He couldn't help but wonder if his ghost friends and Gengar's pals were okay. They probably were, they lived in a pretty hidden room.

They kept on like this through another two flights of stairs.

"Well... This is weird," Misty said finally.

"Yeah... Somethings not right," Ash nodded.

About that time they heard a groan and they froze.

"What was that?" Drew whispered.

"Nothing... Alive..." Ash murmured nervously.

"Wait, what?" Ritchie asked nervously.

Suddenly a large black and dark creature came out from the floor.

_You... You... HUmans... TriEd... to HUrt my chiLd...RocKetssss..._

"Wait we're here to stop the Rockets, we aren't with them," Ash said as the creature started to take the form of a Marowak.

_LiEs..._

"No we're telling the truth," Brock pleaded.

_No MOre TaLkiNg... FiLtHy hUManSSSS... _

The creature charged forward at them and Ash placed a hand out and allowed aura to form, "Be at peace..." Ash said calmly, he wasn't sure it would work but he could help living pokemon calm down maybe he could do the same for dead ones? The creature seemed to stop. Soon he noticed a young Cubone wandering nearby. Ash walked slowly towards the young pokemon who looked up at him. His eyes became visible in the shadows and Ash could see tears running down his cheeks. Ash placed his hand on the young Cubone and spoke, "I won't let anyone hurt you again." As his eyes flashed blue with a memory of Cubone's

_StAy AWay FrOm my ChiLd..._

The Cubone then rubbed against Ash's leg and firmly gripped his pants. Ash picked him up and faced the creature, "There's no need to worry anymore..."

_ARRRRRGH!_

The creature screeched and flew at Ash.

"Ash!" Misty yelled.

Ash then brought his hands up in a defensive manner and the shadow and the light of his aura collided in a blinding display.

When everyone could see again, Ash was standing with wide eyes and the Cubone was hugging his chest. The creature was gone.

"Ash! Ash are you okay?" Misty asked as the others walked over.

"Yeah... I don't know what happened... I guess I scared it away for now," Ash frowned.

Suddenly metal restraints flew out from the shadows.

"AHck!" Gary yelped as his arms were pinned to his sides.

Soon everyone else ended up the same way. Rockets came from the shadows and approached. Surrounding them. Finally one emerged from the shadows. He was young, maybe 23 years of age. His hair was in a similar style to Drew's only it was robin's egg blue. His eyes were steely gray. He spoke,

"Well... I wasn't expecting this."

"Hmph," Paul grunted.

"Honestly I thought those good for nothing, G-men would've been who was traipsing up my tower," He grinned, "Not some kids."

They said nothing.

He frowned, "You do realize who you're talking to... right?"

"As if," Drew said getting a forceful grab by another grunt.

"I am Executive Vane, Son of the great Executive Archer. I am one of the highest Team Rocket members in the syndicate. You my friends are in deep trouble," Vane sneered. He then noticed the young Cubone who had fallen from Ash's arms, once the restraints had been put in place. He picked it up and it started to cry.

"Hey! Leave that Cubone alone!" Ash shouted.

Vane smiled, "I don't think so, besides you have no right to talk to me that way..." Vane glanced behind Ash and nodded. A grunt walked up behind Ash and hit him hard in the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him unconscious. Pikachu leapt out and surprised said grunt by bitting his arm. After a short struggle, Pikachu was restrained too..

"Ash!" Misty cried out in worry.

"Take them to the holding area, up in my quarters. I want to have a word with them... And maybe now with these kids in danger, the old codger will talk," Vane smiled.

Soon, Everyone was marched away. Ash was lifted over one of the larger grunt's shoulder. They were taken to the top floor, their destination, as prisoners.

zzzzzzzzzzzz-Distraction Group-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Haxorus, Dragonrage!" Iris shouted.

The attack raced forward and downed another Arbok. The scene was chaos to say the least. May had Blaziken, Venusaur, and Delcatty fighting, Max had Sceptile, Poochyena, and Kirlia out, Iris had Dragonite, Haxorus, and Kangaskhan attacking, Cilan had Pansage, Crustle, and Paras fighting, Cress had Panpour and Slowpoke, Chili had Pansear and Heatmor, and Dawn had Mamoswine, Piplup, and Togekiss. They seemed to be taking down wave upon wave of Arbok, Sandslash, Weezing, Raticate, Golbat, Muk, and Houdour. They were slowly getting surrounded but their power was superior.

"Poochyena use Crunch!" Max cried as his pokemon soon obeyed, attacking and downing a Raticate. After a moment, Poochyena started to glow and evolved into Mightyena. Max didn't get the chance to congratulate his pokemon though, that would have to wait.

"Pansear, No!" Chili called out as a Sandslash downed his pokemon and was getting ready to attack again to finish the job. Chili ran forward and covered his pokemon waiting to feel Sandslash's claws rip through his back, when suddenly he heard a bark. He looked up and saw one of the hiding pokemon in the tree-cave, a Growlithe, standing over the now defeated Sandslash.

"Hey, look!" May cried and the group turned to see all the hiding wild pokemon come running down the mountain to their aid. The wild pokemon soon joined in the fight.

Cilan commanded his Crustle to use another Rock Wrecker, soon after he realized his pokemon were getting tired,

"Hey I don't know how much longer my pokemon can keep this up!" Cilan called out.

"I know! Same here!" Dawn replied and everyone agreed.

"Dawn! Look out!" Cress cried as he saw an Arbok pounce and make its way in the air towards Dawn.

"Dragonite! Hyperbeam!" suddenly a voice reverberated through the area.

The attack slammed into the Arbok and sent it flying. Soon the Rockets found themselves surrounded by the G-men. Some went running and scattered, but most were soon caught by the G-men. The trainer of the Dragonite that saved Dawn soon showed himself to be Lance.

"Lance!" Max called out.

"May and Max. It's good to see you again," Lance nodded, "I wish we could have met again under better circumstances."

Everyone introduced themselves and then soon told Lance the fate of the others.

"So Ash and the rest of your group went to go help Mr. Fuji?" Lance asked in seriousness and a bit of shock.

"Yeah! I'm sure they need help about now," Iris nodded.

"Alright, me and the G-men will infiltrate at dawn," Lance nodded.

The others soon realized that they had been fighting most of the day. Night had fallen by the time they had told Lance their story and the G-men had regained control of the outside of the town. Even with the prompting of Lance, they refused to go to sleep until their friends were safe. They had to wait until morning...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-Tower Group-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"This stinks," Drew growled staring at his pokeballs on the nearby table. They however were behind bars, arms still restrained since last night.

"Pika chu chu pi," Pikachu sighed, unable to use it's electrical attacks.

"It's okay Pikachu..." Misty smiled and then turned back to Ash who was still unconscious.

"We need another plan," Ritchie said.

"Yeah because the first one worked to well," Paul snorted.

Finally Ash woke up.

"Uhhgh," Ash mumbled.

"Ash... You're okay," Misty said with a few tears trying to poke through.

"Ashy-Boy, You still with us?" Gary smirked playfully.

"That grunt sure gave you a good smack," Brock growled slightly.

"Yeah... I think I'm good," Ash groaned a bit and looked around.

Soon a few grunts appeared with Vane and an elderly old man.

"Now you see? I wasn't lying... You don't want something bad to happen to these kids, do ya?" Vane grinned wickedly, after gesturing to the group, and held part of his sport's coat's collar with one hand, somewhat eloquently.

"You... You, despicable!" The old man sputtered.

"Yes... I'm aware... Now tell me what I need to know!" Vane yelled and gritted his teeth.

"I have nothing to tell you..." The old man sighed.

Vane nodded to one of the grunts who then reached into the cage and grabbed Paul roughly, shoving him a distance and then pulling out a gun...

"Paul!" Everyone yelled.

Paul stared at the gun pointed at him. On the outside he looked mildly surprised, but on the inside he was horrified.

"Now... let's try this again," Vane said raking a hand through his hair.

"No please! Don't hurt the lad!" The old man blubbered, "Please understand that I literally have nothing to tell you! The knowledge you seek has been lost to time!"

Vane growled, "Fine." He nodded to the grunt and he cocked the gun and started to aim.

"No!" The group yelled as the shot fired, but something strange happened... One of the pokeballs on the table had opened and a bright red light formed in front of Paul as the gun was fired.

"Torr...terra..." Paul's Torterra groaned as the bullet entered his body.

"Torterra, NO!" Paul yelled showing fear and panic for maybe the first time in his life

~zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~

_I'm sure my pokemon would protect me like that... Right?_

_~zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~_

Paul felt tears start to well up in his eyes and slowly fall down his cheeks. His pokemon was laying on the ground... not moving.

"Oh bother... Stupid pokemon. Well you know, survival of the fittest I suppose," Vane shrugged.

"NO!" Paul shouted getting everyone's attention, "Every life is important! There is no weak or strong! It's what you... what you do with your life that decides what you are..." Paul finished with determination and a bit of awe at his sudden realization.

~zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~

_"It doesn't matter then, they are strong from my work on training them. What you don't know can't hurt you," Paul said with a snort._

_~zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~_

Paul growled at his own arrogance. He thought he had pitied his pokemon and had worked to make them stronger, when in reality they had pitied him and his loneliness. He started to finally understand what Ash had meant from the beginning, What Drew had started to understand. He finally understood... too bad it was most likely at the cost of one of his closest and oldest... friends...

"Torterra..." He whispered.

Vane smirked, "Whatever, Jake, finish the job," The grunt nodded and pulled the gun back up to aim when suddenly an explosion rocked the tower.

"What the hell!" Vane yelled.

Suddenly Lance landed inside the tower with his Dragonite and Iris was right next to him with hers. The sounds of people charging up the stairs could be heard. Soon May, Max, Cilan, Cress, and Chili, along with a large group of G-men were in the room.

"Damn it!" Vane yelled angrily.

"Give it up, Vane. The G-men have you surrounded!" Lance yelled.

"Hmph... Whatever, you were no use to me, anyway," Vane said shoving Mr. Fuji, then brought out a pokemon that revealed itself to be an Abra, "Teleport."

Vane was then gone, leaving behind his grunts. The G-men then moved to arrest the remaining Rockets. Eventually Ash and the rest of the captured group were released and only they, Lance, and the old man, Mr. Fuji, remained in the upper room.

Paul walked over to Torterra and leaned down.

"We need to get it to a pokemon center soon. We need better equipment to deal with this," Brock said walking forward a few paces. He was intending to squat next to Paul and his pokemon so he could examine the injured Torterra, when Paul's voice stopped him.

Paul was silent, "It's too late... I know it is..." Paul watched the faint breathing of his pokemon.

Everyone was quiet and Dawn then saw Paul was crying and slowly everyone started to see his shoulders heaving,

"Paul... We can go now, maybe there's still time," Dawn said quietly as her eyes started to water.

Ash suddenly walked forward and leaned down to Torterra's level, "Stand back."

Paul looked up at Ash shocked with tears still in his eyes, he noticed Ash was crying too.

Ash repeated himself, "Stand back."

Paul got up and slowly took a few steps back.

"Ash, what are you..." Misty started but never got to finish.

Ash's hands started to glow on Torterra. May looked down and noticed Ash's pendent was still on her. Ash suddenly roared, "The Aura is with Me!"

Torterra started to glow and suddenly its eyes opened, "Tor? terra?" The bullet wound on Torterra was almost fully healed though it was still open and bleeding.

Ash sighed and shook a bit as he lessened his power, "I'm glad you're okay Torterra... and Paul is too..." Ash turned to face Paul who was looking at him in shock. Everyone else was silent and a bit shocked. Lance and Mr. Fuji were speechless.

"Ash... Thank you," Paul finally said.

"No... no... problem," Ash said as he started to waver and then fell to his knees as blue energy racked his frame.

"Ash!" Misty yelled.

"Oh no! Please no!" May cried out.

"What's happening?" Paul asked as he looked at Ash as he seemed to whimper in pain.

"He must've used too much energy, just like Sir Aaron!" Brock yelled as everyone approached.

"What... what does that mean?" Misty asked fear evident in her voice.

Max's eyes started to water, "Sir Aaron died, Misty... He used up his life energy to give to Mew and he died," Max choked at the end.

"No..." Iris whispered.

"Ash... Ash please..." Misty cried holding him close as he started to lean against her, "Don't... give up... you're too stubborn for that..."

Pikachu hopped up and down and eventually grabbed May's attention,

"Pikachu chu pi pika pi!" Pikachu pointed at Ash's pendent.

"Oh!" May said and then placed the crystal on Ash. It started to glow slightly. Ash's eyes opened slightly and he spoke in a hoarse whisper,

"pokeball... Lucario..." Ash said.

Misty looked down at his belt and saw a blueish sphere appear and then become a pokeball, "Lucario!" Misty said as she released the pokemon.

**Master!**

Lucario shouted before kneeling next to Ash.

**He pulled from his life force since he doesn't have enough power yet to heal wounds like Torterra's, normally. I must aid him.**

Lucario focused placing his hands on Ash's chest. His aura appendages extended and a blue energy started to pulse over Ash's body. Pikachu approached and its brown stripes on his back and his cheeks started glowing blue before he too placed his hands on his trainer. The blue currents eventually stopped pulsing around him. Suddenly Ash's eyes opened fully and he looked up at Misty with blue irises and smiled,

"That was close."

Lucario and Pikachu stopped and both sighed.

**Now all three of us must rest to rebuild the energy we have used up, especially you Master.**

"Pika chu chu pi pika PikaPi," Pikachu nodded before sitting down.

"That was close? That was close!?" Misty almost yelled but then she stopped herself and looked up at Torterra.

Ash leaned up and hugged her as his eyes returned to normal.

"Nevermind... I'm... I'm just glad you're okay," Misty whispered and held him close; she could feel the warmth of his pendent on her chest.

"My... my word... I never thought I'd live to see the day..." Mr. Fuji suddenly spoke, "You... you used the sacred and ancient lost art of aura just now... Unbelievable."

"Hmmm," Lance murmured.

"I'm glad you're okay, Ash," Max said which soon turned into everyone agreeing.

"You had me worried there, Ashy-Boy," Gary smirked.

Meanwhile Paul had remained silent, petting Torterra and looking into its eyes. Brock walked over and looked the pokemon over,

"Well Torterra still needs to go the pokemon center as soon as possible. It's still bleeding and is really weak, but you should be able to put it in its pokeball now," Brock spoke.

Suddenly from the shadows the young Cubone waddled out and walked up to Ash and pulled on his pant-leg.

"Oh. Cubone, I'm glad you're okay I was worried about you," Ash smiled.

**Master, He wants you to follow him to the alter over there. Why, I am unsure.**

Ash nodded and tried to stand up only to waver and have to be supported by Drew and Gary. Ash then slowly got his bearings and walked over to the alter. The dark creature from before soon appeared but said nothing and simply watched. Cubone pointed to the stone. Ash nodded and placed his hand on it. Soon a melodious ringing could be heard. It sounded through out the tower and the rest of the town. The stone glowed blue. The creature started to become more like the see-through vision of a Marowak, losing its dark colors.

_Take care of my child... He has grown fond of you... The spirits are at peace now thanks to all of you... Thank you..._ The Marowak whispered before fading away.

Everyone then made their way down the tower and to the pokemon center. Torterra was placed in intensive care and soon everyone was in the lobby telling Lance their story.

"So you've learned how to infiltrate a Team Rocket base... Interesting. Have you ever considered joining the G-men, Ash? You are older than when I first met you. You aren't a minor anymore," Lance asked with a smile.

"I suppose but I really am focusing on the Master Challenge right now," Ash nodded.

"Oh yes that's right. You all must be in a group looking for the Kanto token," Lance spoke and looked over the group.

"That's right," Misty nodded.

They continued to talk about their stories from both sides. Cubone was sleeping in Ash's lap. Max told everyone his Poochyena had evolved. Chili informed everyone that the Growlithe that had saved him and Pansear had joined his team. Everyone decided to rest in Lavender town for a couple days to let Ash and Paul's Torterra, rest. Lance eventually told them good luck and took his leave to help the G-men get the captured Rockets to jail and finish up his duties. Mr. Fuji then walked up to the group,

"I just wanted to thank you children for bravely attempting to save me. Who knows how much longer they would've cared for an old man like me," Mr. Fuji smiled kindly.

"Oh we felt the need, Mr. Fuji. Your quite welcome," May said.

Mr. Fuji then glanced at Ash after everyone else had also welcomed Mr. Fuji.

"You young man have a very rare and important gift," Mr. Fuji said.

"Yeah... I'm aware. You don't mind keeping that a secret do you? Lance already agreed," Ash looked at him.

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of revealing it. I realize how important it is to have such a gift be kept secret," Mr. Fuji said, "Thank you also for calming the spirits and deciding to care for that young Cubone. It's been at least oh, 20 years or so, since the spirits were at such peace here."

"Not a problem sir. Anything to help," Ash nodded.

"May I ask what Vane wanted from you?" Gary asked suddenly.

Mr. Fuji nodded, "Ah yes that Rocket man. He wanted to know the details behind the legend of the alter at the top of Lavender tower."

"Oh there's a legend?" Iris asked.

"Yes dear one. The legend says that the ghostly bell will sound when the heart of the tower has been restored during a time when darkness has returned and must be destroyed by the legends," Mr. Fuji said.

"Wait didn't a bell sound when Ash touched that stone?" Drew prodded.

"Yeah!" Max added.

"Yes... Indeed it did. You see when that Rocket man asked me about the legend... I... I had started to believe that perhaps it was just a legend. But then you touched the stone and my old ears heard the bell," Mr. Fuji replied.

"So what happens when the heart-thing is restored in the tower?" Dawn asked.

"And did Vane tell you why he cared about the tower?" Ritchie added.

"I don't know and no he didn't. I'm sorry that I can't tell you much more," Mr. Fuji bowed.

Soon he left as well to rest after his experience. Paul was silent.

"You okay, Paul?" Cilan asked.

Paul turned to the group once he heard his name, "Yeah... I'm just thinking."

"I imagine this is stupid for me to ask, but what about?" Dawn asked.

Normally Paul would've replied with sarcasm, but at a time like this he felt no drive to, he was emotionally drained,

"...Torterra... I just... I guess I understand now all the things you used to say, Ash. After everything I did wrong... It still cared enough to almost die for me," Paul said before staring straight ahead.

"Hey don't act like that. Everyone makes mistakes. That's how you find your true friends because even with all your flaws they still care. Heck Misty wouldn't be my girlfriend otherwise," Ash smiled as Misty elbowed him playfully. Paul looked up at him then to each of them and then he started to smile,

"Yeah... I guess so," Paul said everyone smiled.

"Heck yeah! You gotta have someone to have your back," Gary spoke.

"To keep you in check," Brock added.

"To give you confidence," Max added.

"To lend a hand," May and Dawn say as they place their arms over each others' shoulders.

"To stand by," Drew nodded.

"To give advice," Cilan spoke.

"To comfort," Cress added.

"To make smile," Chili said with a grin.

"To argue with," Misty said.

"To be sad with," Ritchie nodded.

"To just be there..." Ash finished.

Paul looked at them and then down at the ground, "No one has ever asked to be my friend before... Do you all really want to be my friends?" Paul asked, regretting how pathetic and cheesy his request sounded and slowly looked up. Everyone was smiling and Dawn was beaming.

"No doubt," Ash said and everyone nodded.

"We are a team after all," Drew smiled.

Everyone came close together and placed a hand in and Pikachu jumped on top,

"From this moment forward, we are a team, we are a group, we are..." Ash stopped and looked up, "We are friends... and we stick together."

"Yeah," Everyone said.

Everyone smiled and sat back down. They started talking about which path they were going to take to get to Rock Tunnel when they were ready to leave. Suddenly Nurse Joy walked in.

"Nurse Joy?" Paul asked and stood up.

"He's going to be fine. A couple days and then he can go with you in his pokeball, but I must advise that he not battle for a week or two," Joy said with a smile.

"That's wonderful," Dawn breathed.

"Can I see him? Is he awake?" Paul asked.

"Yes, come this way," Joy spoke and lead the group into Torterra's room.

"Tor.. terra," The pokemon seemed to smile.

"Torterra..." Paul started. He had a sad look on his face, "Thank you..." he whispered.

He then hugged his pokemon's head in his arms and stayed that way for a while. Finally Joy told them Torterra was asleep so they left to let him sleep. They told each other good night and went to bed in their rooms.

zzzzzzz

The next couple of days were peaceful. Everyone took the time to train their pokemon. Paul had the opportunity to have a long and somewhat emotional talk with his pokemon. Afterwards Paul returned to himself; sure he may have finally understood the importance of friends and being friends with your pokemon but Paul was still well... Paul... It would take time for him to relax further and his cynicism would always remain, somewhat. May's Nidoran evolved into a Nidorina and Dawn's Oddish evolved into a Gloom. Max was disappointed that his Kakuna still hadn't evolved but Ash told him he would soon. Ash's energy slowly returned and he became more active again as time went on. Two days came and went and Paul's Torterra was returned to him and everyone got ready to set off again towards Rock Tunnel.

zzzzzzz

They headed north towards the tunnel.

"Man it's a great day," Ash said and placed his hands behind his head. Pikachu soon followed with a squeak of agreement.

"Yeah it is beautiful today," Misty smiled.

"Defiantly," Max beamed, "Have I mentioned how psyched I am to be traveling again with you guys and now, I have pokemon."

"Only a million times, Max," May snorted.

"Sibling rivalry how familiar," Cilan smiled while Chili leaned on him and Cress smiled and shook his head.

"The glories of being an only child," Gary smirked.

"Yeah!" Dawn said and high-fived Gary.

"Meh, I would've thought having a brother or sister would've been cool, but then again I've always felt like most of you guys were like family anyway," Ash smiled with his eyes closed enjoying the sun.

"Speak for yourself," Max and Misty grumbled at the same time.

"Hey!" May growled.

"Ha ha ha. Easy there, tiger," Drew laughed light-heartedly at May's reaction.

Everyone really was in quite a good mood even though they had, only just a couple days ago, stared death in the face. The group's chemistry was different now. Sure they were a good team before, but now... Everyone had a lot more invested in the group... Something that their success in the Master Challenge couldn't change.

"We should be coming up on Rock Tunnel pretty soon," Ritchie noted.

"Yeah just a little bit more," Brock added.

"How will we find our way in the cave? If I remember correctly you need a pokemon that knows Flash, because of how notoriously dark it is in there. None of ours can do that," Paul spoke.

"Aura, remember? Rocks can't mess with me, really it's harder in a building than in something like a cave. Life is everywhere even in caves but not so much in buildings, it makes it easier to see walls and objects that way," Ash said looking back, smiling at the group.

"That's great, Ashy-Boy, for you, but what about us? We aren't equipped with your fancy night-vision," Gary retorted.

"We could always just hold onto each other," Dawn said.

"Yeah and if anyone gets detached, then I can tell," Ash nodded.

Everyone agreed; after all using a fire pokemon to light the way would possibly attract unwanted wild pokemon. They got much quieter as they approached the cave.

"Here we are then," Misty said simply.

"Yep," Chili responded.

"What an interesting cavern, It's quiet massive," Cress looked on.

"Okay everyone, hold on tight," Ash said.

Pikachu jumped on his shoulder, Misty grabbed one of his hands and Brock held the other. Soon everyone slowly started to grasp each others' hands until everyone was connected.

"I guess in we go," Iris smiled.

"Yep!" Ash said and then allowed his eyes to fill with blue light. Together the group entered the cave.

zzzzzzzz

They walked mostly in silence, trying to give Ash as much concentration as possible. They planned to let Ash rest every couple hours or so. They would be out of the cave by sunset if they kept to the schedule.

"Fuu... -dge!" Drew cursed loudly, receiving an echo. They heard a few zubats scatter somewhere. He had hit his foot against another rock.

"Another rock?" May asked more quietly.

"Naw, he just likes screaming randomly about desserts," Gary retorted.

"You are much more cynical than your grandfather, Gary," Dawn grunted.

"I got it from my father, besides such slowballs are too irresistible not to hit," Gary grunted, "And I always hit a homerun!" Gary boasted.

Ash snorted even while was he concentrating and Gary glared at Ash through the darkness as some of the group laughed.

"AH! What was that!?" Max yelped, "It was softish... ugghk."

"Probably just a pokemon, right Ash?" Ritchie asked.

"Yeah, It was just a Sandshrew. It's not mad though," Ash added.

"It's so dark, like the darkest and finest of chocolates," Cilan quoted.

"Ugggh, typical Cilan talk," Iris groaned.

"Do you always compare things to food?" Paul asked.

"We're all cooks and connoisseurs of fine cuisine... It's our duty and our privilege," Cilan, Cress, and Chili said in sync.

"Ash, you really find the most interesting people," Ritchie chuckled slightly.

"I think we complement each other well though, pick up each other's slack," Brock spoke.

"Yes, like a wonderful recipe with complementing ingredients," Cilan added.

Misty giggled, "I just like hearing everyone's voices, especially in this cave. It's comforting."

"Yeah... This would be a quiet trip otherwise," Ash said happily, "Okay break time."

Everyone sat down close and Chili released Heatmor who used his tail and lit a flame to light everyone's faces while Ash rested. It was quite cold in the cave so they needed to squeeze together around the fire. Pikachu rested in Ash's lap.

"Ahhhh," Dawn sighed happily.

"I agree. It's cold in here. I hate the cold. I feel like my fingers wanna freeze off," Iris mumbled.

"Whoa..." Ash said suddenly.

"What, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Look," Ash said and everyone followed his gaze to the ceiling. Many Paras and Parasect held to the ceiling and were glowing soft neon colors yellow, green, and reddish-pink.

"Beautiful..." May whispered.

"Amazing," Brock nodded.

Everyone was silent for a while, just taking in the peacefulness of the cave and the pokemon. Ash could feel Misty shaking slightly,

"You okay, Mist?" Ash asked.

"Yeah... Just they're bugs," Misty spoke.

"Oh..." Ash was silent for a moment but pulled her closer to comfort her.

"Thanks, Ash," She murmured.

Everyone in the group smiled at the couple, they were quiet cute.

"Don't you think it's beautiful, Misty..." Ash asked.

"Yeah..." Misty responded.

"Bugs aren't that bad are they? If they can do something like that, right?" Ash asked.

"Well... I guess not all bugs..." Misty spoke.

"That's right," Ash smiled and held her hand making her smile in response.

Soon Ash was ready to move again, and several more stops for breaks later, they neared the exit.

"Hey! I can see the sunlight!" Max said excitedly.

Everyone walked out into the sun, slowly releasing each others hands.

"Finally!" Chili stretched in the sunlight, that was working on retreating into the horizon.

"I think we should stay the night somewhere over there, and start dinner," Brock said.

"Yeah! Using aura works up more of an appetite than some of my pokemon battles!" Ash said happily.

Everyone started setting up their sleeping bags and getting ready for dinner; Ash had gone to get water for Brock and the Striation brothers to boil.

Eventually May noticed someone approaching, "Hello there."

The rest of the group turned at May's greeting.

The trainer had brown hair crafted into a nice Pompadour. He had blue eyes and sparkling white teeth. Misty's heart froze when she saw him, _Why him of all people?_

"Misty! Babe how you doing, girl?" the newcomer said smoothly ignoring May's greeting entirely.

"Gahhh! Arthur, why are you here?" Misty said starting to get a bit angry.

"Awww Come on. Don't be mad," He then glanced around and finally noticed the group, "Ah! You must be in the Master Challenge. I know you can beat all of em babe."

"Arthur, just answer my question, why are you here?" Misty said trying to keep her cool.

"Searching for you, babe. Like ... Please let me be yours," Arthur said trying to make his voice sound husky.

"Sorry, I'm not interested. Besides, I already have a boyfriend," Misty snorted and then smiled, liking how that sounded coming from her mouth, "So go."

Arthur frowned and then grinned with a glint in his eye. Slowly he walked closer to where Misty was standing, in front of a tree. What Arthur did next, infuriated her and the rest of the silent group.

He kissed her, pressed her up against the tree. The other boys quickly snapped out of their shocked state and moved forward to address this intruder. The girls watched in stunned silence. Before anything else could happen, they heard Ash's voice.

"Hey guys! I'm back I got the..." Ash didn't finish. The bucket dropped to the ground and the water splashed about his feet. Pikachu froze before his cheeks started to crackle. The boy released her and stared at Ash with a cruel smile on his face, "What's... Misty?" Ash almost whispered with a slightly pained look on his face. Ash was no stranger to pain at least in the physical sense, but with love involved Ash was a newcomer. He had never realized how much pain could come from that. It felt like his heart was in his Kinger's vice-grip attack.

"Ash... I... He..." Misty stumbled out.

"I was just showing Miss Waterflower how a real man kisses," The boy said. Ash's face grew red, anger obvious in his face. He was about to step forward and react to the attack on him and his girlfriend when,

_Smack!_

Misty slapped him... Hard. She walked hurriedly over to Ash and held him. He returned the embrace,

"He kissed me without asking Ash, you believe me don't you?" Misty said looking into his brown eyes. Ash smiled,

"Of course I do Mist," Ash said, his heart feeling the pain ebb away with her smile and eyes in his view.

"By the way, you jerk, It was an awful kiss! Ash is much better at it than you," Misty said having a blush form on both their faces. Sure it was a little awkward to discuss it front of their friends, they tried to keep PDA to a minimum, but she felt the need to help boost Ash's confidence. _Who would've ever thought I'd be working to boost Ash's ego?_ She thought.

The boy recovered from the shock and rose.

"You're not welcome here. Leave," Ash said simply. There was a power in his voice now that Misty had never heard before the last year. He used it with his pokemon and now to defend her and the rest of the group. _Maybe he doesn't need me to boost his confidence. _Misty thought with a smile.

The boy, with the glares of everyone at his back, walked towards Ash and Misty and then went to pass them. He spoke before he left,

"Oh well... You aren't that pretty anyway. I'd choose any of your sisters over you any day," The boy said coldly. Misty couldn't help it as some heated tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she glared at him. Everyone else grew even more frustrated faces, then before, she could say anything to stop him, Ash reacted.

_Pow!_

The boy had turned around to see Misty's heart-broken face, instead he had seen an angry Ash walking towards him. Before Arthur could say or do anything Ash had punched him out cold. Ash stood over him rubbing his knuckles and then shaking his hand. He turned around and looked right into Misty's eyes,

"That must be the problem. He's such a jerk that he's been knocked out too many times. Poor kid, he's been turned dumb by the trauma and doesn't know a beautiful girl when he sees one," Ash said with a half-smirk.

Misty stood still for a moment, thoughts running through her head. _Ash... He just said something so romantic... I'm so lucky. He really cares about me... he truly does._ She ran forward and threw her arms around him and kissed him quickly, before burying her head into his chest.

"Thank you..." She murmured.

Ash was dazed at first... He always was after they kissed. He just couldn't help it. It always felt like he had just fought through a hundred battles in a few moments, when she kissed him. He also had been trying to get used to Misty not arguing as much with him any more; she wasn't as frustrated as she used to be before telling Ash she cared so much about him. Then again, _I like Misty the way she is, arguing and all._ Then he finally held her close and spoke,

"Anything for you Mist."

"Everyone here agree that that punch was justified?" Gary asked with a smirk on his face.

"AGREED!" Everyone said at once, causing Ash to smile and Misty to giggle.

Ash reached for a pokeball,

"Go, Pidgeot!" The giant bird cawed, "Would you mind taking this boy down the road some?... and maybe give him a nice perch?" Pigeot nodded with a slight smile and flew away with the boy in her talons.

"Um... Ash what did you mean when you said a nice perch?" Paul questioned. Ash started getting looks from everyone.

Ash tried to suppress a great fit of laughter and it was obvious to everyone.

"Ashy-Boyyy... What did you do?" Gary looked at him.

"Ash! Come on!" Misty said causing him to finally crack,

"HAH HA HA! Okay okay I just... Okay Pidgeot used to get angry with me for oversleeping during my year traveling alone and would fly me up to some branches just above the ground. I would end up on the ground and it would wake me up. Lets just say that our uninvited guest will wake up on the wrong side of the bed no matter which way he rolls."

At first everyone stared then they laughed, Paul and Drew smiled in amusement. Eventually Pidgeot came back, Ash returned her, then they finally got to eat the long awaited dinner, prepared by Brock and the Striation brothers.

"Wow guys! Excellent yet again," Drew said with a grin.

"Yes very true," Paul said respectfully and everyone else nodded happily.

"No doubt!" Ash said with a grin.

"Thanks guys It's really a pleasure," Brock smiled and the Striation brothers added their agreement.

Ash then grinned evilly and leaned back with his arms folded behind his head,

"Listen closely everyone. You are about to hear a cry of lost dignity ring throughout the forest in a few moments," Ash said.

"Wait, what do you mean Ash?" Max questioned.

"A man who has lost his dignity. He just lost again and will call out his cry of desperation," Ash spoke again. Everyone looked at him oddly until they heard a distant noise,

"AAAAAAHHHGAKKKK!"

"Looks like our friend, finally woke up," Ash said with a smirk, finally revealing that he was referring to Arthur from earlier.

Looks of understanding flashed across everyones face, then everyone burst into laughter. Gary and the girls were almost all in tears. Cilan and his brothers had to lean on each other for support. Brock was holding his gut. Drew was laughing hard as was Ritchie. Iris and Max held each other over the shoulders and howled. Paul... was laughing with tears trying to form in his eyes. He wasn't sure what it was, but finally he couldn't hold it in. Sure these people were idiots... but they were now his idiots. Everyone laughed hard for a long time before finally settling down. Misty was still giggling,

"Ash! Your timing was impeccable!"

"Thanks Mist. I try. It's nice to cause a good laugh when I'm not the one being laughed at," Ash replied and winked at her.

"Awww. but you make it too easy Ash Ketchum," Misty replied sticking her tongue out.

Ash sweat dropped and everyone laughed again, but not quite as hard. Finally they all got ready for bed.

"Night guys!" Ash said.

Everyone then followed with their good-nights and then surprisingly the final one joined their calls.

"Night all," Paul said, though quiet, everyone heard and smiled. They were truly a team now and nothing or no one could stand in their way. The next morning was one full of promise.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Awww So Paul has had his first big awakening. He'll still be mostly the same but now he'll care more about his pokemon and the others.**

**Also Rocket-dan makes it's first real appearance with one of their executives. Vane's name is actually relevant too since Vane is an Archery term, get it? Archer... Vane... cuz Vane is Archer's... son? Anywho, I thought it was clever :P**

**And what about that weird legend that Mr. Fuji was talking about, eh? Hmmm...**

**And of course cutie little baby Cubone joins the group! Arthur gets decked by Ash! And also its revealed Jeremy is out of jail!**

**I hope you enjoyed and that it wasn't too cheesy at points.**

**Thanks for viewing :D**

**Also if there any pokemon you guys want Ash to catch go ahead and tell me. I can't promise anything since I've kinda already decided what pokemon I'm going to have him catch. There is more flexibility on the others in the groups. I still wanna know which pokemon you guys want to see. Who knows? I might change my mind :D**


	15. A Talk, a Play, and a Confrontation

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zorua talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The group were walking down route nine towards their final destination of Cerulean, at least for a few days. Pikachu and Cubone rested on either of Ash's shoulders.

"So... Mist?" Ash asked after the group had finished a conversation.

"Yeah, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Who was that guy yesterday anyway? Like, how'd you know him?" Ash questioned, rubbing his neck.

"Oh... He's some guy bent on having me as his girlfriend. He saw me during one of my underwater shows, knew my sisters were models, and said he loved me, yadda yadda. He's asked me out a million times, but I always said no," Misty said, ending a little angrily.

"Oh..." Ash was silent a moment before he spoke again, "I can see why he fell in love with you after one of your shows... You really are beautiful, Mist," Ash said with a blush appearing. She was his girlfriend but he still couldn't quite stop blushing when he spoke to her in such ways.

"Thanks Ash... That's real sweet of you..." Misty was silent for a moment before she spoke, "You don't like me just for that... do you?"

Ash almost stopped the whole group. He froze looking at her like she had just slapped him.

"Ash?" Misty spoke.

"Of course not Mist... I... I liked you before I knew you weren't just a scrawny and angry tomboy," Ash smiled and then grinned mischievously.

"Aren't you the jokester!" Misty said.

"You're the total package, Mist," Ash said simply.

Misty stopped from beginning an argument and then they held hands.

Ash was too busy focusing on Misty's face to notice the giant net that shot out from the forest beside them.

"Ahhh!" Ash and Misty yelped as they were contained.

"Yikes!"

"Whoa!"

"Crud!"

Came the cries of their friends as they too fell to the same fate. Pikachu was then snatched by a claw and familiar evil laughter filled the air. Everyone groaned.

Prepare for Trouble!

and Make it Double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth! That's Right!

"This is just stupid!" Ritchie yelled.

"You're the ones in the nets, not us twerps," James grinned.

"If anything's stupid, it's yous guys," Meowth spoke.

"Cubone!" Cubone growled.

"Oh what a cutie!" Jessie squealed.

Cubone crawled out of the holes in the net that Ash and Misty was in since they were too large to hold him.

"Hey, Get back in there you little twit!" James growled.

"Cubone cu bone bone cu cubone!" Cubone yelled with tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Uh, Meowth?" Jessie asked, Meowth was crying,

"Dat's the saddest tang, I've ever eard!" Meowth cried.

"What?" James questioned.

"He lost his dear mommy, and now he has a new daddy and mommy! He wants us to leave um alone and give back uncle, Pikachu," Meowth said blubbering.

"How'd he loose his momma?" Jessie asked solemnly. Her face seemed to darken a bit.

"Cubone bone cu," Cubone said pointing at the R on their shirts.

Meowth froze and his tears stopped, "Wait what?"

"Cubone bone cu," Cubone repeated.

"Well?" James questioned.

"His momma... was killed by Team Rocket..." Meowth said, still staring.

James and Jessie became silent.

"You know... One of the grunts in that Lavender town take over almost shot Paul..." Ash said, staring at them with sympathy, "I know you three aren't murderers like they are... Thieves but not murderers... What will happen if you're ordered to kill someone... To kill even maybe us? Cause you know we won't turn a blind eye."

Slowly Jessie, James and Meowth looked up at each other and then over to Ash and the group. They each took turns looking at each of their faces. Finally the trio's gaze locked on Ash... Then Jessie was the first to tear her eyes away.

"Team Rocket... It's all we are twerp... We have nothing else to go to," Jessie said, stopping the silence. She tried to grab Pikachu and turn away, but she couldn't quite make herself.

"Jess..." James spoke.

"You're better than this... I've seen it... I know it... Goodness inside someone can't hide forever," Ash said.

James locked eyes with Ash with a bit of shock evident on his face.

"You don't care... So long as you get your Pikachu back," Meowth looked at Ash with suspicion.

"Then why on earth would I give you some of my own food? Aren't you guys tired of living the way you do? It doesn't have to be this way," Ash said getting frustrated.

"I can't..." James said finally and Jessie and Meowth looked at him, "I can't kill someone, Jess..."

There seemed to be some sort of sadness that flashed through Jessie's eyes as she looked at her partner that hid his face with his long bangs.

"We need time... To think..." Jessie said finally getting surprised looks from everyone there except Ash, Pikachu, and Cubone. Jessie opened the claw with Pikachu in it. Pikachu jumped out and turned around and look at them, sadly.

"Pikachu... Pika pi chu chu pi," Pikachu spoke and Meowth nodded not looking Pikachu in the eyes.

The trio turned to walk away,

"You'll find what you need... and thanks for letting Pikachu go. You can do the right thing... I believe in you guys," Ash said.

The trio just stared. Jessie's eyes seemed to betray a long withheld memory. James seemed to be fighting a small smile from coming to his face. Meowth simply was in awe. Finally they looked at each other and then turned to go. The last thing the group heard them say was Jessie's voice,

"You know... You're not half bad, for a twerp."

Pikachu walked up to the nets and started to cut them open with Iron tails. Everyone worked to get up and out.

"You really have been working on them, huh?" Misty asked as Cubone and Pikachu returned to Ash's shoulders and the rest of the group gathered themselves.

"Yeah... they aren't really... bad... just maybe lost," Ash said before looking off in the direction the trio had disappeared.

"I actually feel bad for them," Max said.

"Yeah..." May sighed.

"You know... That girl, Cory, that I took inside the Warehouse was barely 14 years old... She was an orphan and wanted a pokemon and couldn't get one from the professors because she didn't have the orphanage's or a parent's permission to travel... Team Rocket helped her become a trainer... just not the one she wanted to be... I hope she left like I asked her to," Ash said.

"14 years? Geez..." Gary said shaking his head.

"I guess Jessie, James, Meowth, and Cory are some of the ones in Team Rocket that just had no place to go..." Brock spoke.

"So sad," Iris sighed.

Misty placed a hand on Ash's arm, "You've done everything you can for them, Ash. You can only help someone who is willing to be helped."

Ash nodded, "Yeah... I just hope they make the right choice before it's too late."

"What do you mean, before it's too late?" Drew asked.

"From my time on the inside I can say that Team Rocket takes treachery very seriously..." Ash spoke, "The higher you are in command, the longer you've stayed there, the more you know about their plans and if you try to leave, the worse it is for you to escape... and not be found."

"How horrid," Cilan commented and his brothers nodded.

"Savages," Paul merely hissed.

Finally everyone turned to continue traveling towards Cerulean. They started talking about more light-hearted topics.

"So you think I'm your new daddy, huh?" Ash asked as he cradled the young Cubone and tickled it, causing it to giggle. It nodded it's little head, "Then if I'm your daddy and Pikachu's your uncle, then who's your new mommy?" Ash asked, confused. Cubone pointed at Misty.

"Awwww! How cute!" May squealed with Dawn.

"Hey you two, you skipped the marriage part! It's first comes love then comes marriage then comes the baby in the baby carriage," Iris joked.

"Eager aren't we?" Gary smirked.

Ash and Misty both flushed a vivid pink. Misty then smacked Gary in the head.

"Ouch!" Gary yelped.

"Hey man, you kinda asked for it," Drew grinned.

"True," Ritchie smiled.

Everyone was laughing happily as they entered Cerulean city.

"Yes! Ahhh. The air of Cerulean," Misty beamed.

"There's never is any place like home," Ash smiled at Misty's happiness.

Everyone noticed a crowd near the gym. As they approached, one of Misty's sisters noticed them,

"Hey! Little sis!" Daisy smiled and Violet and Lilly soon joined in.

"Just us a moment everyone," Lilly said, before pulling the whole group into the gym away from the crowd outside.

Misty rolled her eyes, "What on earth are you three up to now?"

"We're having another play!" Violet smiled.

"Yep! One more full of emotion and adventure!" Daisy added.

"Litttle sis, you need to be the mermaid again!" Lilly grinned.

"Guys, I can't I'm in the middle of traveling with my friends in the Master Challenge. You know that!" Misty said with some anger.

"But sis... We already sold all the tickets!" Lilly whined.

"We made so much money for the gym!" Violet smiled.

"Guys!" Misty shouted.

"Here... This is your script. The play's in a couple days," Daisy smiled.

"But..." Misty started and her face took on an angry appearance before,

"I think we have the time to stay for a couple days," Cilan said suddenly.

"Yes, this is the city of the water gym! I want to explore," Cress smiled.

"It's okay Mist, most of these guys haven't had the chance to see Cerulean before. Besides we won't leave you, we're a team remember?" Ash said.

Misty looked behind her and saw all of her friends smiling, "Okay... Thanks guys."

"Now! We just need to find someone to play the hero!" Daisy said clasping her hands, "We just need to find the right guy in that mob out there."

Everyone turned to realize the crowd from earlier was actually made entirely of guys.

Violet looked over and noticed Ash shift nervously, "Hey! How about you, Ash? You've been in one of these before! I'm sure you could handle it again," A wicked smiled graced her face.

"Like, yeah!" Lilly grinned with the same deviousness.

"Wha!? No way! This is a full blown play! I'll screw up the script," Ash shouted in panic.

Misty looked at him in sympathy since her sisters were going to, no doubt, corner him.

"Whoa. Wait a sec. You were in one of these water shows, Ash? Why didn't you invite me? That must've been a hoot to watch," Gary grinned.

"Ha ha, hilarious Gary," Ash snorted.

"I knew you had to have had performance experience from somewhere to be pretty good at Pokemon contests like you are!" Dawn smiled.

"Yeah, Ash. You keeping secrets?" Iris grinned.

"Hmph! It was just to get Team Rocket out of the way!" Ash said and turned away.

"I have to agree that I didn't imagine you to be a performer like that, Ash," Ritchie added.

"I'm not. It was one time," Ash grumbled.

"Fine. Fine. We'll just ask that Arthur kid to come back. He was my favorite for the part anyway," Violet said.

"NO!" Everyone in Ash's group yelled at the same time.

"*sigh* Fine. Give me the script," Ash huffed before the three girls hugged him.

"Thanks, Ash!" They squealed at the same time before running off to tell the crowd to leave.

"They certainly are excitable," Max commented.

"Yep," Paul nodded.

"Uh-huh," Drew agreed.

"They're beautiful is what they are!" Brock swooned.

"Nope!" Misty and Max said as they grabbed his ears and Croagunk popped out. Croagunk looked up, surprised at Misty and Max, before nodding that he approved and going back in his pokeball.

"Crud!" Ash said suddenly.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

"Cubone?" Cubone copied.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty asked.

"There's a singing part in here!" Ash choked.

"Oh my," Chili said.

"Good luck with that Ashy-Boy, I'll be taking an intermission at that section," Gary smirked.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Ash," Misty said touching his shoulder.

"Yeah..." Ash nodded.

Everyone then decided to go and get ready to sleep since everyone was pretty tired from the day.

zzzzzzzz

As the group exited the gym the next morning to explore, they heard a very familiar voice.

"Look out! Look out! Look out!"

Next thing Ash knew, he was spitting out water inside one of the many fountains that dotted Cerulean city.

"Hey Bianca," Ash muttered.

"Oh! I'm soooo sorry Ash! Me and my group saw you so I ran over to get your group's attention and accidentally couldn't stop," Bianca said sheepishly.

Ash of course forgave Bianca and soon the two groups merged.

zzzzzzzzz

"So there's a play happening? Awesome!" Bianca said happily.

"Yeah I'd love to see that! Plays are wonderful!" Serena smiled happily.

"Well since I know you guys, I can probably get you all up in the VIP box," Misty said smiling.

"Sweet!" Barry grinned.

"Awesome!" Zoey smiled.

The two groups then decided that after the play, they would combine and explore the unknown dungeon, as Misty called it, together the next day to see if a token was down there. They spent the rest of the day talking and going to eat. Misty was like a tour guide for everyone and pointed out all the most well known sights and places in Cerulean.

zzzzzzzz

The night of the play was then here and Ash was back stage going over his lines and directions one more time. His outfit was a loose white shirt tucked into a pair of black pants and a black belt. He wore a pair of brown sailor boots. They allowed him to keep his pendent on. Ash though, was troubled. He was worried he was going to screw up.

"You're going to do fine," Misty said walking up to him. She was going to be wearing her mermaid costume but hadn't yet put the tail on.

"Yeah..." Ash murmured.

"You'd rather infiltrate Team Rocket than this, huh?" Misty smiled.

"You said it," Ash grinned.

"Hey... How about we tell my sisters we're a couple?" Misty asked.

"Okay..." Ash said and raised his eyebrow.

"In our own way," Misty smiled.

They both knew at that moment what the other was thinking.

"We've got to go," Ash said suddenly.

"Yeah, break a leg," Misty smiled.

"Huh? Why?" Ash asked with a confused look on his face.

"Oh Ash its something that people say to each other before they preform... For good luck. Oh nevermind. Just go," Misty said with a giggle, _He's still dense... but now it's just cute._

zzzzzzzzz

The tank was dark at first until a lone light struck it and lit it up. Misty swam around in the water gleefully with the water pokemon.

Daisy started to narrate the story: The lagoon was the place all the water pokemon could come and relax away from the hands of humans. The Misty Mermaid was their guardian and felt the need to play with and protect them always.

Misty swam over towards a cavern until she and the pokemon were alerted to the surface by shouting and noise. Another spotlight shone now upon a boat afloat in the water.

One day though that would all change. Pirates had come but not to find the pokemon, but to dump some unwanted cargo...

Ash's wrists were bound and he was being led towards the end of a plank.

"You shouldn't have made us loose that loot you land-lubber!" One of the actors, playing a pirate, shouted.

"Yeah you just had to go and save dem pokemon, eh?" Another grumbled.

Ash was being backed up off the plank further. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Off ya go you scurvy dog!" A third pirate grinned before pushing Ash off with the tip of his fake sword.

Ash yelped then yelled loudly before striking the water.

zzzzzzzzzzz-The Stands-zzzzzzzzzzzz

"Ash isn't doing so bad," Max said, grinning.

"I have to admit, Ashy-Boy's hanging in," Gary smiled.

"Still an amateur none-the-less," Harley said before getting smacked in the back of the head by Solidad.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-The Stage-zzzzzzzzzz

Ash and Misty were shone inside of an underwater cave. Ash began to stir after being 'unconscious' from almost drowning. Once he woke up, both Ash and Misty began to pretend like they were talking.

The mermaid discovered that this young man, Hiro, had been valiantly trying to save the surrounding area from the threat of those pirates. They had attempted to catch many pokemon and he had stopped them, but had ended up captured by them instead of the pokemon. She explained how she guarded these waters from evil men and protected the pokemon. She wasn't very trusting of humans in general, but when she heard what the pirates had said about the young man, she had felt the need to intervene. The two ended up teaming up to protect the lands they called home. One bound to the sea and the other to the land; thus they separated to do their duties...

Time passed and it seemed that though they were successful at protecting the sea, land, and pokemon they cared so much for, they grew lonely for each other's company.

Ash and Misty came back to each other and continued to meet by the sea. Ash gave Misty a pendant that had a shell on the end of a string.

Two souls never to be as one. Separated by the sea...

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-The Stands-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"So lovely," Bianca said tearing up and blowing her nose.

"It is a wonderful love story," Zoey replied.

"It's really very similar to Ash and Misty's own relationship," Brock said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Max grinned.

"She wanted to stay with him, but couldn't," May nodded.

"He didn't want to say goodbye after Johto," Dawn smiled.

Then they continued watching... The climax was approaching...

zzzzzzzzzzzzz-The stage-zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hiro returned to the sea and was saddened when his friend, the mermaid didn't appear. He went leave and was stopped by the mermaid's friend, Dewdong, who tried to get his attention.

Ash turned and gazed out over the sea and saw the pirates sailing away with nets hanging over the side of their ship. Dewdong let Ash mount him and they swam towards the ship.

The evil pirates had taken the pokemon of the lagoon as well as the mermaid it seemed. Hiro worked to climb the side of the ship silently and hopefully save his friends.

Ash crept up over the side of the boat and moved over to Misty where she was tied to the main mast. The pirates were busy looking over the pokemon they had caught. Ash untied Misty as Dewdong leapt into the air and surprised the pirates by washing them away with a Water pulse. Ash helped Misty and the pokemon back into the water when a voice called out.

"YOU! You were supposed to be dead!" One of the now, recovering, pirates raged.

Ash turned to see the man and his peers, stalking up to him, "I'm kinda hard to get rid of huh?"

Ash leapt to dodge one pirate's sword, only to be 'punched' by one of the other pirates. He hit the deck, hard. Misty leapt out of the water and had Dewdong launch an Ice beam that blasted many of the pirates into the water. The last pirate aimed his pistol at Misty and fired the fake shot. Ash jumped forward and feigned being struck. The pirate was suddenly washed away by the power of all the water pokemon's attacks. Back in the lagoon, Misty was trying to heal Ash. The pokemon looked on with worried faces.

The pirates had been defeated, the pokemon saved, but at what cost? It was then that the Guardian of the Sea itself came and left its gifts.

A shadow of Lugia shines in the water with the use of an illusion. Ash is healed and suddenly Misty begins to glow. They are left standing together, Misty now wears a white dress and had legs instead of a tail fin.

"Hiro... You are well... I'm so glad," Misty smiled as they held each others hands and the pokemon smiled at them.

"My Misty Mermaid... Mist... You can walk! You are like me. We can be together now," Ash smiled softly.

Misty smiled and began to sing. Ash and Misty took turns with the lyrics:

"Together we stand as one."

"Together we breathe under the sun."

_Misty was a little stunned by Ash's voice, she hasn't heard him try to really sing in a very long time if ever._

"Your world is mine."

"My world is yours."

"With the felling we share my heart soars."

"With the bond we have we can truly shine."

"Right here with you."

"Always by your side."

"This love that binds us we will not hide."

"True love that has been felt by few."

They sung the last line at the same time: "I just want you to know that I - love - you."

They then kissed and stopped to embrace. Some water pokemon leapt out of the water around them. The crowd roared in approval. The lights went out; the play was over.

zzzzzzzzz-Everyone back stage after play-zzzzzzzzzz

"Awesome work, you two!" May said happily.

Everyone congratulated them.

"I didn't know you had a singing voice, big guy!" Brock smiled.

Ash blushed, "I'm not that great."

"I thought it was nice. The way you acted the other day, I was thinking maybe you would sound like a dying-meowth," Misty snickered.

"Geez, Thanks Mist," Ash said with a smile and rolled his eyes.

Suddenly Misty's sisters came through,

They stared at Ash and Misty. Misty started to grin,

"You... you two like... kissed," Daisy said looking between them.

"Yeah, that like... wasn't in the script," Lilly said.

Ash and Misty looked at each other and smiled lovingly, "So?" Ash asked.

"Like... no way... You two actually are like a couple!?" Violet shouted.

"Like... Yep!" Misty said holding Ash's hand while mocking their constant 'likes'.

The three girls then erupted into a fit of squeals and no ways.

"I knew you two had it out for each other from the beginning!" Daisy said.

They both blushed. Everyone laughed happily.

Eventually everyone in the crowd left the gym and everyone found a place to sleep. Since the second group didn't have enough room at the pokemon center anymore, they ended up staying at the gym as well. Ash and Brock slept on the floor in Misty's room. Gary, Drew, Max, Ritchie, and Paul slept on the floor in the living room. Harley stole the couch seemingly without shame. May, Dawn, Zoey, Bianca, Solidad, Georigia, Serena, and Burgundy slept in the back training room. Cilan, Cress, Chili, Stephan slept in the hallways. Clemont, Kenny, Nando, Cameron, and Trip slept in the foyer. Barry found one of the chairs and fell asleep holding the remote to the tv.

zzzzzzzzz

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone woke up with a start and looked around. They all ran to the source of the yell and saw May standing a distance from Harley. Harley had his hair done up in rollers and a mask of facial cream on. His face was mixed between anger and a stoic expression.

"Really?" Drew asked arching his eye-brow.

Gary and Ash exchanged a glance with their eye-brows also arched.

"Hmph! It takes a lot to be as gorgeous as I am!" Harley gloated and then marched off.

May sighed with relief as he left.

"Kinda sounds like you, Gary," Ash snorted.

"Shut it, Ketchum," Gary growled while some of the others in Ash's group tried to stifle a laugh.

Later that morning, much of the merged group was eating breakfast together and talking about their plans. It was decided that they would find out about this place Misty had talked about and then early in the morning, tomorrow they would go to start exploring it. Ash, Max, and Drew had gone to the training room to train some of their pokemon. Everyone went there to tell them the plan and to go exploring in Cerulean together.

"Whoa," Cameron said. Everyone watched as Zorua fought fiercely with the training dummy. She jumped and attacked and backed away and started again. Next to her though was what really attracted their attention; Ash was ducking and jabbing at Lucario. They were sparring, Drew and Max were watching, and Pikachu was cheering.

Ash dodged a punch from Lucario and grabbed his paw; he then attempted to attack but Lucario reacted quicker and Ash soon was on his back,

"Ahck!" Ash grunted when he hit the ground.

**Not bad for just starting out. Of course you will need a lot more practice before you become, well a formidable opponent. Also you telegraph your movements too much. You are able to predict quite well what someone else is ready to do, but if they can just as easily know what your plan is, then it's pointless.**

Ash laughed as he stood up, "Lucario I get it I'm not great at fighting. Tell me something I don't know. I'll get there," Ash then looked at Lucario humbly, "Thanks... I'll remember what you said."

Ash, Drew, and Max returned their pokemon and everyone then walked into the city. They walked over towards the Nugget bridge and saw a view of the cave Misty had been talking about.

"It looks so spooky," Bianca said.

"No kidding," Clemont added as a shiver went up his spine.

"It's just a cave, right?" Kenny grunted.

"Hmm, yeah shouldn't be a big deal," Georgia huffed.

Brock then started talking to a guard nearby, "Are we allowed access here?"

"Yes but I must scan each of your pokedexes for identification to see if you are strong enough to handle the dangers inside," The guard answered.

"What sort of dangers?" Dawn asked.

"This cave is known as the Unknown Dungeon... People who have gone in and come out say that strange things happen inside... Things they can't explain, hence the unknown dungeon's name. Also there are powerful pokemon that roam inside," The guard responded.

Everyone thanked him and told him they would be there tomorrow morning. They traveled back into the city and found a park to rest in. Everyone released some of their pokemon. Soon Burgundy released her newest pokemon...

Ash and Pikachu froze when Burgundy released the pokemon. Silence fell over both groups as a stare down between Fearow and Ash and Pikachu started. Eventually Solidad asked a question,

"Is there a problem, Ash?"

"..." Ash continued to stare.

"Ash?" Stephan questioned.

Suddenly Ash straightened up and started to turn around as Fearow suddenly attacked,

"Caw!" It screeched as it came after Ash.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" Ash yelled as he ran, "Recall it, Recall it!"

Burgundy finally recalled it and Ash collapsed on the ground with Pikachu following suit.

"What on earth was that about?" Clemont asked.

**Master?** Zorua asked and blinked.

"Ash? Is that Fearow, the Fearow I think it is?" Misty asked with a frightened expression on her face.

"Heh heh, yep!" Ash sighed.

"Chaaaa..." Pikachu sighed and fell on its belly.

"Am I missing something here?" Trip asked.

Ash then commenced to tell his experience with that Fearow.

"Geez! Talk about a grudge!" Barry yelled.

"I mean... I said I was sorry right afterwards too. You think he would've forgotten us by now," Ash sighed.

"I already told you, Ash. You're hard to forget," Misty said with a mocking grin.

"Very funny, Mist."

Suddenly Burgundy's pokeball opened itself, and Fearow emerged and started to attack Ash again.

"For the love of-!" Ash yelled as he ducked under a Drill peck.

Pikachu ran and jumped up before he shocked Fearow with a very powerful looking Thunder; it soon fainted.

"Thanks Pikachu, but next time don't over do it," Ash said with a sheepish smile.

"Chu," Pikachu turned his head, with his arms crossed, away from the fallen bird.

"My Fearow!" Burgundy yelled.

"Sorry, Burgundy..." Ash frowned.

Burgundy sighed and returned her pokemon, "It's okay."

"We will need to find a way to settle the problem between you and Fearow though, in the event you battle Burgundy in the tournament," Cilan said holding his chin.

"What!? No way! That thing will kill me and make a nest on my grave!" Ash shouted, "I'd rather fight all of Team Rocket than that bird!"

"Chu! Pika pika chu chu!" Pikachu agreed hopping back up on Ash's shoulder.

Misty walked up to Ash and held his hand, "I know this is something you need to do though, and I know you can do it too," Ash looked at Misty for a moment and then turned towards the group,

"Well... okay I guess," Ash said and smiled at Misty.

They decided that as soon as Fearow was restored and they had finished exploring the Unknown Dungeon tomorrow, Ash, Pikachu, and Fearow would confront each other. Suddenly Max cried out.

"Kakuna!? Kakuna, where are you?" Max called.

"Max, what's wrong?" May asked.

"Kakuna! He's missing!" Max said as he looked around hurriedly.

"Then that means, Detective Cilan is on the case!" Cilan said, as suddenly he was in his detective's outfit.

Cress face palmed and Chili started to snicker.

"Wait you're telling me that... It isn't a connoisseur thing?" Iris asked as she noticed Cress, Chili, and Burgundy staring at Cilan.

"Nope," All three said.

"I guess that means it's a Cilan thing," Ritchie said and smiled.

Iris fell over anime-style and groaned, "Oh brother."

"That's weird... I can't even feel it's aura," Ash said as his eyes lost their blue hue.

"Really?" Misty asked.

"But wait... Does that mean..." Gary said.

"OH NO!" Max yelled.

"Hey hey, easy, that doesn't mean anything. It could mean simply that he some how got too far away from me or something is interfering with my vision or his aura," Ash said, trying to calm the younger boy down.

"Cubone. Cu bone bone," Cubone said as he petted Max's leg trying to comfort him.

**Yeah, Cubone's right! Master and the others will find him. We'll all look!**

Everyone agreed and split into groups. Ash, Cubone, Zorua, Pikachu, Max, May, Misty, and Drew were in a group and headed off into the forest around the park.

zzzzzzzzz-With Ash's group-zzzzzzzzz

"I just don't get how Kakuna got away that quick... It's kinda, you know, immobile for the most part," Drew said and May giggled.

"Yeah it is odd," Misty added.

**Maybe another pokemon carried him away?**

"That seems the most likely guess," Ash nodded.

"Then did he get eaten?" Max asked with big eyes.

"No He'll be fine, Max, you'll see," May said with a smile.

They approached a small ditch and leapt across. Walking a little further Ash stopped,

"Wait. I can feel Kakuna... He was taken by a bunch of Beedrill apparently... Everyone be quiet so we don't wake them up."

Everyone nodded and moved forward slowly. They then got up towards a tree and Max grabbed up Kakuna.

"I was so worried, I'm glad you're okay," Max smiled and held Kakuna close.

"Ka kuna," It cooed.

Everyone then heard a growl,

"Look out!" Ash yelled and ducked. He pulled Misty down at the same time with Max. Drew then yanked May down as a Luxray leapt over their heads. The Beedrill woke up and then started to hover behind the Luxray as if they were under his command.

**What's wrong, Luxray?**

"Lux ray ray lux ray!" It said.

**No don't worry, these trainers are good trainers. They will take good care of Kakuna. You can trust me. We're all friends.**

Luxray growled and leapt at them again, "Lux ray ray lux." It then grabbed Kakuna from Max's hands, using his mouth, and tossed him up to a Beedrill.

"No! Kakuna!" Max yelled.

More Beedrill started to approach. Some then swooped down to grab Cubone.

"Cubone!" Cubone cried before whacking a Beedrill in the head with a Bone club attack. He though was soon also taken up in the air.

"CUBONE!" Cubone shouted in fear.

"Cubone!" Ash shouted before jumping and grabbing him before the Beedrill flew too far away. Ash landed on the ground with a bit of a stumble but was fine.

Max meanwhile ran towards the tree that Kakuna was leaning against again, "Kakuna!"

"Max!" May yelled as Beedrills flew at him to attack. He braced himself for the attacks and used his body to protect Kakuna, "I won't let you hurt him!"

"Zorua!" Ash yelled in fear as the Beedrill flew at Max.

**Max! I'm coming!** Zorua yelled and jumped at the Beedrills and blasted them away using Darkpulse.

Luxray jumped at Misty but was clubbed by an angry Cubone, "Cubone!"

Luxray roared, scarring Cubone into Misty's arms, "It's okay."

Pikachu leapt at Luxray and used a Iron tail.

"Roserade, use Petal dance!" Drew yelled. His pokemon used the attack and scattered some more Beedrills. May's Delcatty was using Assist to do the same. Max made his way back towards the rest of the group.

"Max! Are you okay?" May asked, worried.

"Yeah I think so," Max nodded.

"You seem to be a bit scratched up but fine otherwise," Drew added.

Everyone then turned to battle when they heard a cry,

**AhhhH!** Zorua yelled as she was pinned under Luxray and was shocked by stray electricity.

"Pika chu pi pika!" Pikachu called out.

Suddenly Kakuna started to glow in Max's hands,

"Bzzzzt!" Max's new evolved pokemon called out before buzzing over to Luxray and using a strong Poison jab on him.

"Lux!" It cried out and jumped back.

**Thanks, Beedrill, friend. Let me help you!** Zorua said.

Beedrill flew at Luxray and used a Twinneedle, before being savagely swatted aside by an electrified paw.

"Bee... bzzt..." Beedrill sighed before going unconscious.

**No!** Zorua then turned towards Luxray and snarled. Her body started to glow and with a howl the process stopped and a Zoroark was in the place of Zorua. **Whoa! I evolved! Time for some payback!**

Zoroark jumped towards Luxray and used a Night slash to down the pokemon. **I'm sorry, Luxray... but we are happy with our trainers.**

Luxray slowly got up and looked into Zoroark's eyes, then nodded.

**I hope you find a trainer of your own that will make you happy too.**

Luxray smiled slightly and then turned and walked away into the forest. He took one last look at Zoroark and her trainer before disappearing.

"What was all that about?" Drew asked.

**He thought all trainers were cruel to their pokemon like his trainer once was. He stayed here after running away and started to collect pokemon from trainers, thinking he was saving them. I just explained to him that he wasn't completely correct.**

"Well that's good," Ash smiled. Ash then noticed Cubone was sniffling, he was upset and scared after the Beedrill and Luxray had attacked, "Hey easy. It's okay," Ash rocked the pokemon gently and soon it fell asleep.

"Awww," May cooed and Misty smiled.

Max returned Beedrill and Everyone made their way towards the park. They found the others and walked to the pokemon center. Beedrill was restored with Burgundy's Fearow. Gary then brought everyone's attention to the fact that Zorua had evolved,

"I didn't know it was possible for a Zorua to evolve during the day. Typically they evolve at night during a full moon," Gary said.

**Maybe because I am training with aura, I was able to break that boundary.** Zoroark spoke with a smile.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Max thanked everyone for their help. Ash returned Zoroark and Cubone and everyone made their way out into the streets again. They saw a crowd forming.

"Wow! You guys are in the Master's challenge?! That's awesome!"

"So cool!"

"Please everyone calm down, There's plenty of Damian to go around," A voice finally cut through the crowd.

"Damian?" Brock stumbled.

"You don't think..." Misty spoke.

"Maybe," Ash said.

Everyone then was told who they thought was in the crowd. Suddenly a voice spoke again,

"Hey look there! More trainers in the challenge!"

Suddenly most of the crowd turned around to see the twenty-eight more competitors in their midst.

Damian looked at the new comers with the half of his group that was beside him. They were silent as he approached,

"So you losers are competing too?" Damian asked.

"Losers!?" Harley croaked angrily.

"Quiet Harley, getting angry won't fix anything," Solidad scolded.

"Damian," Ash said nodding and Pikachu nodded too.

"Do I know you?" Damian said looking Ash over, unimpressed.

"Well... You might not remember... but you once owned a Charmander," Ash said simply.

Damian stared at him for a moment, frozen, "You... You're that kid. The one who stole my pokemon."

The crowd gasped.

"You!"

Everyone turned and saw Shamus walk up and stand next to Damian.

"You're the one who brainwashed my Tepig!" Shamus growled.

"Hey! Wait a minute, pal! Ash didn't steal your Charmander!" Misty said getting angry.

"Yeah, Misty's right, Damian, You tried to abandon your Charmander, but then tried to get it back when you were shown Charmander was stronger than you thought. You wanted him for very selfish reasons," Brock said with a scowl.

"Same goes for you, Shamus!" Iris shouted.

"You should never abandon a pokemon no matter how strong it is," Gary said.

"Oh wow! You're Professor Oak's grandson!" Someone shouted. Gary and the rest of the group, sweatdropped.

"Hmph. Whatever, it's probably still weak," Damian said smugly.

"Oh... I wouldn't say that..." Iris said in a sing-song voice.

Drew chuckled.

"Okay, fine. Prove me wrong," Damian growled and Shamus snorted.

"Well... Okay but try not to cry for your mommy again," Ash said seriously before letting a mischievous grin cross his face.

"You, pathetic trainer! I'll show you not to mess with Damian Haigney!" Damian shouted, before releasing a fierce looking Manchamp.

"Okay. Charizard, go!" Ash said releasing the pokeball. Charizard emerged and roared loudly releasing a torrent of flame into the sky. His head lowered as he finally took in who his opponents were. Charizard then saw Damian. A low and loud growl then rumbled from Charizard as his eyes glared at his previous trainer.

Damian looked at Charizard nervously, "Manchamp, use...!"

"Dragontail!" Ash said. Charizard smacked Manchamp with it's now glowing tail and sent him back into his pokeball. Charizard then walked slowly up to Damian. He roared his loudest roar ever. Most had to cover their ears from the sound. Charizard finished and huffed in Damian's face. He turned to lumber back towards Ash who rubbed the pokemon's snout,

"Good work, Charizard no need for a full battle, just gotta make a point," Ash smiled.

"You'll regret this. I'll show you and that overgrown lizard who's stronger! You're still a loser!" Damian said as he threw a rock that was aimed at Ash's chest.

Ash quite quickly caught the rock with sharp reflexes he had gained from his aura training, "Really, we're throwing rocks now?" A bit a blood dripped down his palm from the sharp rock striking his hand. Charizard noticed it, though Ash didn't seem to mind.

Everyone in both Ash's group and the second group glared at Damian and his group members; the crowd stared, waiting to see what happened next. Charizard then roared in rage and flew forward,

"Charizard! No! I'm okay. He didn't hurt me!" Ash yelled out in fear as his immensely powerful pokemon flew towards Damian.

"Ahck!" Damian yelled as Charizard knocked him over and stood over him growling angrily.

Charizard started to build up a flamethrower in his mouth and everyone started to panic,

"Charizard, No!" Ash said a ran forward, standing over and in front of the downed and frozen Damian. Shamus took a couple steps back in fear with the rest of his group members.

Charizard growled.

"I said no, Charizard! He isn't worth that! Besides, just because he's mean to us doesn't mean we should return the favor... Charizard... It's okay... I know how It hurts... To be left behind..."

Everyone in Ash's group frowned remembering Ash's father,

"But you have to let it go... Don't let someone else's choice define you. Let you define you... Otherwise, you still belong to him in someway... and I'm sure you don't want that..." Ash spoke softly as Charizard's tail flame shrunk and his flamethrower, he was building up, disappeared. He growled a sad growl and then grasped Ash's shoulders with his claws and brought Ash close to his chest. Charizard wrapped his wings and tail around them both.

Many in the crowd were touched by Charizard's gesture.

"It's okay, Charizard... It's okay," Ash said as he started to rub Charizard's chest with one hand.

Damian stood up and backed away into the rest of his group, "You and that Charizard are out of control," He spoke rapidly, "I'll prove you're not strong when we battle in the Master's Challenge!" Damian growled and then walked hurriedly away with his group. The crowd thinned out and Ash's group and the second group walked up.

"That's great that you didn't roast him, Charizard," Misty smiled rubbing Charizard's wing.

"Yeah. Even if he deserved it," Chili grinned.

Paul was silent and wore a frown, _To say anything would make me a hypocrite._

"He's very un-cool," Zoey frowned.

"Yes, quiet an unsavory fellow," Cilan agreed.

"What are the odds that those two would end up on the same team," Iris said shaking her head.

"They seem powerful though so we'll have to be careful," Clemont sighed.

"Yeah... Charizard, you sure showed him. He will think twice before messing with us, huh?" Ash added with a smile.

Charizard smiled and roared releasing Ash from his claws and wings.

"Thanks also for defending me, pal," Ash spoke again.

Charizard then leaned down. Ash cringed ready to feel a flamethrower blast over him. _Going to have to buy some more clothes... _but what came next surprised Ash and everyone else... Charizard licked him.

"Cha... Charizard?" Ash asked, after recovering from the shock.

"Char..." Charizard smiled and nudged Ash's shoulder and then licked the small amount of blood from Ash's palm. Trainer and pokemon locked eyes...

"Your... welcome..." Ash said finally and smiled. "Charizard... He thanked me for being his friend," Ash said suddenly facing everyone.

"Really? How do you know?" Serena asked, confused.

Ash smiled and looked again into Charizard's eyes, "I just... do."

Everyone smiled and then after Ash returned Charizard, they headed back to the gym to sleep for the night.

zzzzzzzzzz

**Alrighty! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**

**Some interesting things revealed like Team Rocket's strife and Damien and Shamus being in the challenge.**

**A couple of things I want to address/announce:**

**First I think I should explain the idea of guns in this story. They can sometimes be kinda hard to place in pokemon stories since they could just mow down people or pokemon... So Here's how I see it: Only a very few amount of people own guns. Mostly strictly used legally by the authorities and the G-men and illegally by few Team Rocket grunts and every Executive, and rarely the common poacher. Though most people will use pokemon first to fight since they don't require ammo so to speak. Guns are hard to come by in this story even for Team Rocket, so they use them sparingly. That's the best explanation I can give other than it's a story XP**

**Second: I just wanted to say that honestly I was planning on almost completely ripping off the little mermaid for the play at the Cerulean Gym... I mean yeah it's kinda something people play with a lot with Misty and Ash and the whole mermaid thing. I almost just jumped on board with that and then I thought, "Hey how about you challenge yourself and make the play up too?" So I did. The little play and the song they sung at the end is completely of my own doing. I hope it wasn't too cheesy or not interesting since it was original and off the top of my head. Mostly with the song, not really used to writing songs... Any who that's all :)**

**Review, Fav, Follow, and most importantly, Enjoy! :D**


	16. The Unknown

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Early the next morning everyone got up, some more easily than others.

"Kenny? Cameron? What's up?" Dawn asked as the two entered with a sleeping Barry on their back. Everyone else turned to look.

"We can't wake him up!" Kenny said angrily.

"Thought we'd let him take a swim in the pool!" Cameron grinned.

"Guys, don't you dare! There has to be another way to wake him up," Zoey said and frowned.

"I don't know, Zoey... Barry isn't really easy to wake up, Trust me. Me and Kenny grew up with him," Dawn said as she rubbed her neck.

"Oh! Let me try!" Bianca said she walked up to the three boys and started to tickle Barry's nose with her Minccino's tail that was resting on her shoulder.

"AHCHOO!" Barry yelled as he suddenly woke up, "Geez Ima have to fine you guys for that terrible wake up call!"

Everyone laughed at the antics and then started to pack for their trip.

"Like, be safe little sis," Violet said.

"Yeah, You better keep her safe, Ketchum!" Lily growled.

"You better, or we'll like have to come hunt you down!" Daisy added.

"Don't worry girls, I will," Ash said as he sweatdropped.

"Leave him alone, I'll be fine. If he gets out of line I'll mallet him," Misty said cheerfully.

"Besides, Ladies... I'm here," Brock said and his eye brow wiggled.

Surprisingly Gary took the honors of grabbing Brock's ear, "Now we talked about this, Brock-o. Waiting for the right girl, remember?"

"Oh! but..." Brock groaned.

With a few more goodbyes the groups headed off towards the cave. They got there, the guard scanned their pokedexes, and they were granted entry. They received some flashlights and entered...

zzzzzz

"It's so quiet..." Nando murmured.

"Yeah kinda odd," Trip added.

"Creepy if you ask me, I wonder if there are any ice types down here?" Georgia asked.

"I certainly hope not!" Iris said.

"It has a mysterious allure, no?" Burgundy spoke.

"Yeah, you could say that," Drew nodded.

"Just be on your guard... Anything could be down here," Paul replied.

Everyone nodded and continued forward. After a while, everyone paused for a break.

"I'm going to meditate real quick, so I can get a feel for the rest of the floor, maybe," Ash said.

"Okay, just be careful not to wear yourself out," Misty replied.

Ash nodded before he faced away from the group and crossed his legs. Pikachu laid by his side.

"I wonder how far this thing goes?" Max asked.

"Hmm. Hard to say, Max," Brock replied.

"I think the guide said three floors... but no one's ever gotten to the third floor before," Solidad added.

"I can't believe I came here willingly. Who do those League officials think they are? Sending us all over the countryside! Into storms and caves!" Harley almost screeched.

"Pipe down! Ash is trying to meditate and there are pokemon here you know," Drew hissed.

"Yeah, Drew's right," May nodded.

"Of course the love birds agree," Harley said and rolled his eyes.

"We aren't love birds!" Drew and May shouted.

"Now who's being loud? Besides I was right the first time I said that, right hun?" Harley said, winking at Misty.

"Right..." Misty said with a glare.

"Come on let's just relax okay? Look around at the beauty of this cavern, the crystal clear water..." Cress said with a smile.

"Yeah it sure is beautiful," Ritchie nodded.

"Mhmm," Chili nodded.

"No doubt," Stephan smiled.

Everyone then lapsed into quiet and peaceful silence.

"Hmmm," Gary mused.

"What?" Iris asked.

"Well... I was noticing the material the cave is made out of is odd. Almost blueish? As if it is mixed together with some other material," Gary said.

"You're right," Ash said walking towards them after finishing his meditation, "The cave is mixed with aura crystal, see?" Ash then raised his hand and an aura sphere formed and grew to the size of a basketball, "I can't normally make a sphere that size without help."

"So... Why would this place have aura crystals?" Cilan asked holding his chin.

"What a mystery," Solidad murmured.

Ash released Lucario and Zoroark, "Hey guys, look this cave's walls are made of stone mixed with aura crystals."

**Whoa! How pretty... I feel so much stronger here...**

**This is strange. Why such a cave would exist is beyond my knowledge.**

Everyone continued forward for a while until suddenly they came face to face with some very strong and fully evolved pokemon. Everyone released some pokemon to fight them off. In the fray, Kenny's new Geodude evolved and Bianca's new Shellder did as well with a waterstone. Paul showed his Magikarp had evolved by releasing a Gyarados. Even little Cubone learned a new move, Bonemerang. The groups then returned their pokemon and hurried away to find a safe place to rest for the night. They had Gary's poketech that still told time even if they didn't get a signal in the cave. Lucario and Zoroark took turns guarding the group as they slept.

zzzzzzz

In the morning the group got ready and climbed down from their crevice to continue their travel. Ash returned Lucario and Zoroark.

"Well... That was less than comfortable sleeping," Zoey moaned.

"I second that," Ritchie said as he straightened his back.

"I agree, trees are much more comfortable!" Iris nodded.

They then started to move onwards. Once more they were confronted by more wild pokemon, Clemont stepped forward,

"Let me handle this!" Clemont smiled and pulled out a small machine. Serena and Ash sweat-dropped.

"Clemont's pokemon-repel machine, go! The future is now!" Clemont yelled and pressed a button. Silence came. The angry and wild pokemon started to move forward again after nothing happened. Suddenly the machine exploded in Clemont's hands causing everyone's hair to get electrified into afros.

"Um... oops," Clemont laughed nervously and Serena shook her head with a smile. That smile suddenly disappeared when everyone heard rumbling. The floor beneath them cracked, no doubt weakened from the machine exploding.

They all yelled as they fell downwards two floors into the water below, leaving the wild pokemon behind.

zzzzzz

"Ash!" Misty called out.

"Misty," Ash said as she swam over, "Everyone, okay?" he called out.

"Yeah," Brock nodded.

"I'm still in one piece," Gary answered.

"What a ride," Drew whistled looking up at where they fell from.

"Oh... My hair," Dawn whined.

"Get over it Dee Dee," Kenny groaned.

**"**Shut-up, Kenny!" Dawn growled.

Everyone else soon gave their replies of being okay. They all swam to shore and then rested to try and dry out.

"I wonder how we will get out?" Barry asked looking up.

"I imagine we try to find a tunnel upwards... The guard knew about a third floor so there must be, at the very least, a pathway visible from the second floor," Nando answered.

"Sorry everyone... I was certain that machine would work," Clemont sighed.

Solidad smacked Harley before he said anything. Serena smiled, "It's fine, Clemont."

"Yeah, no worries. Technically you did get us away from the wild pokemon," Ash grinned.

Clemont smiled after everyone agreed, "Thanks everyone."

Everyone agreed that, Nando's idea, was probably the best idea. After drying off for a few more minutes, the groups got up and started walking again. Ash suddenly stopped,

"Wait... we need to go this way first," He said simply before turning to the left.

"Hey, wait Ash! Why?" Misty stumbled out.

"I'm not sure," Ash replied as the groups hurried after him.

They rounded and corner and were shocked... Before them a perfectly square room sat. Along its walls carvings and writing rested. At the end of the room a cloaked figure stood.

"Who... Who are you?" Max asked tentatively.

**_The real question is who are you?_**

"We are trainers... We're just passing through. We got lost and are trying to find our way up a floor," Ash responded.

"Pika chu pi," Pikachu added and nodded.

**_You... It's been quiet a while, human._**

"Huh?" Ash asked.

The figure slowly took off his hood and revealed himself to be none other than Mewtwo.

"Mewtwo!" Brock exclaimed.

**_Ah... Yes I recognize you, a friend._** Mewtwo nodded at Brock and Misty. He took a glance at Gary for a split second.

_That pokemon... Could it be?_ Gary thought to himself. He decided to ignore it for the time being though.

**_I can sense you all know each other quite well._**

"What are you doing down here, Mewtwo? Why aren't you... You know..." Ash paused trying not to break his promise to the legendary.

**_You need not hinder yourself anymore. I believe I can trust these others, besides the clones are safe at Mt. Quena... I however have been traveling quite a bit. I'm here because... well... I'm not sure. I feel more at peace here than anywhere else... I feel a sense of calling I've never felt before._**

"I wonder why?" Misty asked.

"Hmmm," Ash mused. He stepped forward and started to study the walls. He slowly placed a hand on the wall and the words started to glow...

Gary indicated it was written in braille and started to translate as he wrote the passages down,

_The balance of the world..._

_Creatures of power..._

_Creatures of will..._

_The crux that holds them together..._

_Should the balance become askew..._

_One who's heart can touch the souls of pokemon..._

_Who is chosen by the beast of sacred fire and the beast of the sea..._

_The hearts of the lands must be restored..._

_And the world shall be healed by the Guardian's song..._

Everyone was silent as the words slowly stopped glowing. Serena finally spoke,

"What... what on earth could it mean?"

"It seems to have something to do with aura," Cilan nodded.

"Hey, Ash? Doesn't the beast of the sea part kinda sound familiar?" Misty asked.

Ash turned to face everyone and looked on in deep thought...

"To be honest... A few parts of that sounded familiar..."

"Like, what?" May asked.

"Well... The beast of the sea is Lugia, by the prophecy of the Shamouti peoples... The guardian's song in that prophecy was Lugia's call and the song that the madien, Melody, played... The heart of a land is usually a tree of beginning... The only other part that sounds familiar is the part about the one's who's heart can touch the souls of pokemon..." Ash said slowly.

"Wait, didn't Morty of Ecruteak say that was the legend of Ho-oh? And isn't sacred fire a move only Ho-oh knows?" Brock asked.

"This is all so... weird," Max said looking from one person to another.

**_I could tell... You had a great destiny laid before you... You and your friends alike._**

"Heh... I guess I wasn't destined to become a stone statue, eh?" Ash grinned sheepishly.

**_I sensed you and your friends had regained your memories... I hope you aren't angry with me for almost ending you..._**

"Of course not, Mewtwo... I made that decision, besides if Giovanni was the only human you ever really got to know, then it's no wonder why you thought all humans were bad. No one can blame you for that." Ash smiled, "You and that other Mewtwo have had it rough."

**_Other... Mewtwo?_**

"Yeah, Me, Iris, and Cilan met a Mewtwo a year or two ago. She had the same kind of story you did," Ash replied, "You should try to find her sometime."

**_Another like me... I see... Regardless, you said you aren't angry with me?_**

"Of course not," Ash smiled.

**_Hmmm... You continue to surprise me, human... Well perhaps this writing upon the wall was meant to be seen by me as well... I can tell deep within me that you and your friends here have an important purpose planned out... When two lives meet something is born... _**

Ash and Paul glanced at each other after hearing Mewtwo's last statement.

**_Perhaps I too have a purpose in whatever is to come... Or maybe my biological link with Mew has something to do with my instinctual feelings..._**

"I wonder... I feel like something is missing... That we're close to understanding this... whatever it is... I just don't know... I don't want Shamouti to happen all over again... I feel as though this is much bigger though..." Ash spoke.

**_Hmmm... I can't say for certain... I must go... but I hope to see you again soon, human._**

"It's Ash," Ash smiled.

**_Ash... Perhaps once this is over... we could have a battle... A fair one... You are the only human I would duel... The only human I have ever trusted._**

"A battle? I guess if you want... Yeah I'd like that," Ash nodded, "Bye Mewtwo."

**_Goodbye... Ash... friends..._**

Mewtwo nodded before teleporting away. Everyone then turned around and walked out of the odd room. Ash, Misty, and Brock explained Mewtwo's story on the way, mainly the events at Mt. Quena... After some more traveling, they reached a tunnel upwards. Eventually they reached the second floor and once they traveled a ways they found two people sitting near a campsite.

"Greetings, Trainers! Congratulations! You've found the location of the first token of the Master's Challenge!" The man said as he stood up.

"Wow! We did it, guys!" Iris smiled and shouted.

"Oh Yeah!" Barry cried out.

They all approached him and he pulled out a card, "This will scan through your pokedex and each give you a token in your profile. The cool thing about this is that it works like a gym badge, even if you fail the challenge you will always show to have found one of the tokens and gotten this far in the challenge."

"Sweet!" Kenny grinned.

"Yeah that's helpful," Ritchie nodded.

"We're going all the way though, right guys?!" Ash called out.

Everyone erupted into shouts of excitement. Soon everyone's pokedexes were scanned and everyone received their own token. The groups were then told of the easy way out of the cave. Also to access their pokedexes when they wanted the clue to the next token. They traveled until they came to a rock wall. Once they pushed on it, it swung open and everyone stepped out into the moonlight. They found themselves high up on the mountain behind Cerulean. They decided to camp there and travel down the mountain tomorrow. Everyone sat around the campfire and talked before they got ready for bed.

"Hey... Ash?" Max asked.

"Yeah?" Ash replied.

"What happened at Shamouti? You mentioned that name in the cave," Max nodded.

"Oh... Yeah that," Ash smiled half-heartedly and Pikachu nodded. Soon Ash and Misty started to tell their story.

"Whoa. That's crazy," Cameron said.

"No kidding," Dawn spoke.

"Yeah," Ash smiled.

"That's pretty intense... I don't think I could've pulled it off," Drew said.

"Well... To be honest neither did I... I was terrified to say the least. I didn't... I didn't want to fail and let you know... the world down," Ash looked on.

"Pika chu chu pi!" Pikachu spoke.

"Yeah yeah. You've said that a thousand times, Pikachu. You said you knew I could do it. I think the fact that you, Misty, and Tracey believed in me was the only reason I ever even thought to try other than the obvious," Ash shrugged.

"So... Shamouti and now this..." Cress spoke.

"We need to figure this all out. At least the parts we can for now," Solidad spoke.

"I must agree... This is too big to just ignore until the puzzle solves itself," Nando agreed.

"Okay so what do we know?" Gary said, "That's were we need to start. We'll talk through it..."

"The first line that makes sense to me is the part about the one who's heart can touch the souls of pokemon... Morty said the legend of Ho-oh and Lugia in the twin towers of Ecruteak mentioned that line." Brock began, "If I remember correctly, Morty said the legend tells of how Ho-oh and Lugia were betrayed by people and one of the towers was burned down. Both pokemon fled never to be seen again. The legend continues saying that Ho-oh revived three pokemon who perished in the fire and supposedly made the first Suicune, Entei, and Raikou. Ho-oh is said to return from the sky once someone who can touch the souls of pokemon comes," Brock finished.

"Ash... You said you saw a pokemon on the first day of your journey, right?" Misty asked, "Didn't you think you saw Ho-oh?"

"Yeah! We saw it once while Ash was battling the frontier brains in Kanto," May responded.

"Yeah... It was definitely Ho-oh I saw..." Ash nodded.

"So... According to this... legend, you can touch the souls of pokemon... what does that mean?" Paul asked.

"I imagine it isn't a literal thing," Cilan added.

"But maybe it could be, remember N? He said he could hear the hearts of pokemon," Iris replied to Cilan.

Ash informed the rest of the group of N and his abilities.

"Yeah or maybe it has something to do with aura or..." Drew spoke.

"Maybe the way you treat pokemon as friends?" Iris entered.

"Maybe even both?" Chili added.

"Okay... We'll say for now it's maybe both... what about the next part? What else do we know?" Gary responded.

"Sacred fire is an attack used by Ho-oh... and the Beast of the Sea is Lugia," Clemont stated, "Right?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded.

"So maybe Ho-oh and Lugia have shown to have chosen you. Ho-oh by appearing to you and Lugia by also appearing to you and you helping it with the Shamouti prophecy," Georgia said entranced by the mystery.

"Okay... That makes sense... But why would Lugia and Ho-oh be so pivotal in the balance of the world? I mean correct me if I'm wrong but there are more powerful legendaries out there, hun," Harley spoke suddenly.

Everyone was silent for a moment trying to find an answer.

"Maybe... It has to do with aura? Maybe Lugia and Ho-oh had something going on with aura that's different from other legendaries?" Kenny asked

"But Xerneas and Yvetal have more to do with the aura of things," Serena spoke out.

"Or maybe... It has more to do with the fact that Ash is from the Kanto-Johto area. I mean back when the legends were made or something, there was no Kanto or Johto; it was just all one land-mass without region names," May said suddenly.

"Hmmm. Could be... But let's move on... We can only speculate on that for now," Gary said.

"The hearts of the lands are most likely trees like the tree of beginning... but me and Lucario are pretty sure there is only one left... So how we would fix more than one is well... beyond me," Ash said.

"Hmmm and the Guardian's song is the last thing and that is only the song played by Lugia and the maiden..." Misty said.

"Maybe not," Brock said suddenly.

"What do you mean, Brock?" Stephan asked.

"Well... hang with me for a moment... Let's say the Guardian's song doesn't have anything to do with Lugia..." Brock started.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Bianca asked.

"Well... Maybe it didn't mean Lugia even in the Shamouti prophecy... Maybe it was referring to Ash being an Aura Guardian... Just because he didn't know his gift then doesn't mean this legend or prophecy didn't," Brock replied, "Ash, do you remember if it felt weird to hold those spheres? Anything at all?"

"Hmmmm... Now that I think about it. They were really warm even the one that represented ice and they didn't light up with their element until I held them. I guess that had something to do with aura," Ash said.

"But Ash didn't sing a song or anything and the words say guardian's _song_," Max entered.

"Maybe it isn't literal. Maybe his placing of the spheres did something more. Remember the bell sounding in Lavender town?" Brock spoke.

"Oh yeah!" Iris said.

"Of course! The bell rung when Ash touched the stone at the top!" Cilan replied.

Ash's group explained what they were referring to.

"Not only that but after Melody played the song on her instrument, the song seemed to start playing from the spheres," Misty said.

"So then... what does that mean?" Ritchie asked.

"Maybe the hearts of the lands are hidden... Maybe that was one in Lavender town. Maybe the hearts aren't all in the shape of a tree or at least they aren't anymore," Brock finished.

"That could be right, Brocko," Ash said.

"There is one thing about this that is bothering me..." Paul started.

"What's that?" Trip asked.

"If these places need healing... What damaged them in the first place? And what is going to cause all this un-balancing?" Paul finished and then looked at Ash, "Also what about Mewtwo? You and I both know he couldn't have been there when Cynthia spoke to us. How did he just so happen to say that little saying of Cynthia's without ever meeting her?"

"Hmmm. Mewtwo did say he felt called to that spot... The legends might all have some sort of connection we don't understand and some how that connection let Mewtwo in on that passage since Cynthia did say it was part of the old tradition of the time-space statues. Maybe even though Ho-oh and Lugia are pivotal in all of this, the other legends have a place in it as well," Ash replied.

"Yeah..." Misty said with a frown.

"Well... I'll just have to try my best with all of this," Ash smiled.

"Yeah... and we'll be with you all the way," Misty smiled, held his hand, and everyone soon followed with a smile and nod of their own.

"Really? You guys don't have to do that," Ash said.

"We've already invested too much, Ashy-Boy. I want to see how this mystery ends," Gary smirked, "Besides we can't let the world end if you mess up." Gary finished with a friendly jab.

"Thanks guys, You know in the Shamouti prophecy it says, 'alone the Guardian's song shall fail...' Maybe it was talking about friends like you helping me out... and Mewtwo seems pretty convinced by that too..." Ash smiled.

Everyone then talked more about their plans for tomorrow, before finally going to bed.

zzzzzzz

The next day, everyone traveled down the mountain after a nice breakfast. As they entered Cerulean, the groups decide to separate. Burgundy and Ash promised to solve the problem with Fearow next time the groups met up. Ash's group started walking into the city when they then started talking,

"Think I know what we should do," Drew started.

"Yes?" Gary asked.

"We should pool are money together and get a nice few hotel rooms. Nice soft beds for just one night. We deserve it after that trek through the dungeon. We're way ahead of schedule anyway, we still have over eleven months to find the rest of the tokens," Drew replied.

"Sounds awesome in my opinion!" Ash smiled.

"I actually think that sounds quite nice," Paul smiled.

"Yes a nice relaxing day to restore our energy," Cilan nodded.

Everyone soon agreed and they made their way towards one of the nicest hotels in Cerulean. They paid for three rooms. Ash, Brock, Gary, Drew, and Paul got one room, Max, Cilan, Cress, Chili, and Ritchie got another, and Misty, May, Dawn, and Iris got the third. Even though it was only mid-day after their trek down the mountain, everyone was already dressed down in boxers, pajamas, or night ware. There was a lobby on each floor and everyone gathered there to talk and relax with some cool drinks and snacks. Pikachu of course grabbed up the ketchup.

"Everytime... I think we may need to have an intervention, Pikachu. You have a problem," Ash said.

"Pika pika chu chu!" Pikachu snorted.

"You're in denial," Ash replied and reached for the bottle Pikachu was holding, before getting static shocked by Pikachu as a warning.

"I don't think you'll win that battle, Ash," Dawn giggled.

"Yeah Pikachu doesn't seem like he's gonna give it up any time soon," Iris smiled.

"Yeah, can't blame a guy for trying though, right? Oh! Also great job evolving Magikarp, Paul. That Gyarados looks like he could be a tough opponent," Ash grinned.

"Thanks. He seems to be more than willing to battle and yes I have great hopes he will become a strong fighter," Paul smiled a bit.

"Hey, Ash? I was wondering if I could use one of those leaf stones we have. I think I want to evolve Exeggcute soon and he seems ready too," Gary asked.

"Sure, Gary no problem," Ash nodded.

"Ahhhh... This is really great," May sighed happily.

"Yeah! Great idea, Drew," Max smiled.

"No problem. It's good to reward yourself for reaching milestones," Drew nodded.

"Agreed," Brock smiled as a pretty maid passed by.

"Brock..." Misty said warningly.

"Aww come on! Not even on my day off? Besides you have a boyfriend keep your eyes on him, not me!" Brock groaned and Misty glared at Brock angrily.

"Heh heh. Don't you think the girls need a day off from you too?" Chili grinned.

Brock sulked and everyone laughed.

"I need to fish some tomorrow," Cress said.

"Why?" Chili asked.

"Let I remind you that you have one pokemon more than me and Cilan has two more. I need to do some catching up," Cress smiled.

"Yeah I could go for a little fishing on the way to ," Ritchie nodded.

"So we're planning on going through and stopping in Pewter for a while, then Viridian Forest and Viridian city. Then stop at Pallet again, then plan what to do after that, right?" Gary asked.

"Yeah sounds about right," Paul nodded.

"Next we're going to Johto, right? For our next token," Drew said.

"Yeah. We can stop by Rota once we start heading towards Johto. We still need to ask about the egg at the stadium and maybe Mew can tell us more about this new mystery on our hands," Ash added.

"Right... I almost forgot about the egg," Max spoke.

The group the started to joke and laugh.

"And then Brock says, 'Hey I know! I'll use my trusty frying pan as a drying pan!'" Ash laughed.

"Hey it worked too!" Brock smiled.

Time passed and night started to fall. Soon Misty had fallen asleep on Ash's shoulder with his arm around her. May and Dawn were leaning against each other, asleep. Max was leaning on Iris who was leaning on Cilan. Cilan was of course beat red from Iris's actions.

"Brother... Be honest with yourself... You have feelings for Ms. Yuki..." Cress smiled kindly.

Cilan blinked a few times at Cress while the rest of the group started to smile, "I uh... Idon'tknowabouthat..." Cilan mumbled.

"Eh? What was that, brother?" Chili grinned.

"Idon'tknowwhatyou'retalkingabout," Cilan again mumbled.

"Hey its okay. Take your time... Mew knows I did. We can't make it feel right," Ash entered suddenly.

"Yeah Ash is right," Drew replied.

"Heh, who woulda thought Ashy-Boy would be giving out romantic advice," Gary smirked.

"Shut-up, Gary," Ash said albeit a little jokingly.

"You just have to decide if she's that important to you, because she could always slip away," Ritchie said with slight warning. Drew flinched slightly from Ritchie's words but no one seemed to notice.

"...Right," Cilan breathed finally and looked down at the sleeping Iris.

Soon the boys decided to get to bed, so Brock woke up May and Dawn, Ritchie prodded Max, Cilan carefully woke up Iris who blushed because of her sleeping arrangements, and Ash slowly scooped Misty up into his arms. Ash started down the hall when Dawn and May started talking to the group,

"I knew Ash was kind but I never realized how thoughtful he was too. Misty's lucky to have him," May smiled.

"Yeah. I know I would like to be carried to bed. Besides if he didn't treat her well I woulda had to join the hunt with Misty's sisters," Dawn grinned.

"Ha ha yeah... I guess he isn't a little kid anymore," Iris smiled.

"Speak for yourself, Ash will always be Ash," Gary teased waving his hand.

"Yep. But maybe that isn't a bad thing," Brock smiled.

Everyone nodded and then went for their rooms. May, Dawn, and Iris walked in to hear Misty saying good night to Ash.

"Thanks Ash..." Misty said laying on the bed looking up at him.

"Hey no problem... Sorry I guess I woke you up," Ash replied.

"Naw... You did fine. Thanks..." Misty said kissing him.

"I'm glad," Ash said returning the favor.

He turned to leave and bumped into the girls that started cooing over their couple's behavior. Ash blushed and walked hurriedly out of the room. Soon everyone got ready for bed in their rooms. In Ash's room, The boys started to talk.

"Well we've gotten one token. Wow that's just so cool," Ash said leaning back.

"Yep for sure. We've got this thing in the bag. We're an unstoppable team," Brock smiled.

"Yeah... We are aren't we?" Drew asked.

"Duh of course we are, I'm on your team," Gary said before beaning Drew with a throw pillow.

"Uff!" Drew huffed from the impact.

"Don't you need that?" Paul asked with a smirk.

"Naw can't you see? It's a throw pillow. It's purpose is in its name," Gary said sarcastically.

"Ha ha very funny, Gary, and I thought I made bad puns, oh and their's no 'I' in team," Ash snickered before also being beaned by another throw pillow, "Uff!"

Brock shook his head and laughed a bit, "You two are too much."

"Aw come on, Brocko just a little sport eh? Gotta respark the old flame of competition, right?" Gary said happily.

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"Well you know... I guess sense I've been out of the battling circuit for so long I just kinda feel a little, unprepared, maybe?" Gary said, "I just don't want you to go easy on me, Ashy-Boy, I don't need a pity party."

"Hey no chance! I'll never go easy on ya, Gary! Besides your still more than a decent opponent, remember? You beat Pikachu with Electrivire before I went to Sinnoh," Ash said with a smile.

"Yeah. Thanks Ash," Gary smiled.

"No sweat," Ash nodded.

"So you guys were like rivals from birth almost?" Drew asked.

"Yep," Gary affirmed.

"You must know each others battle style well," Paul answered.

"Well yes and no," Gary replied.

"What do you mean?" Drew asked.

"Well I'm sure Ash has a good grip on my strategies and battle style, but..." Gary started.

"What Gary's trying to say, which I agree with him, is that Ash's style is harder to pinpoint," Brock answered.

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"What he means, guys, is that Ash uses the instinctual battle style which really is something you either understand early on or never really get a grasp of. Most of the Champions battle through instinct, except maybe Wallace, he uses contest strategy and evasion," Gary answered

"You must mean Ash's reflex in battle and how he can suddenly do something unorthodox to turn the tides of battle, right?" Paul added.

"Exactly," Brock nodded.

"Hmm. I never really thought of it that way before," Ash said.

"That's because you don't have to think... You almost breathe the battle. That's how you beat my Blastoise with your Charizard," Gary replied.

"I see..." Drew mused.

Slowly the talking stopped and the boys drifted off into sleep.

zzzzzzz

Everyone then started making their way towards after their continental breakfast at the hotel.

"Wow it's sure hilly," Max grumbled.

"Hey at least it's not a mountain," Ash smiled over his shoulder at Max.

"Pika pi pika chu!" Pikachu shouted happily.

"You seem excited today Pikachu," Misty said rubbing Pikachu's head.

"Chaaa," Pikachu cooed.

Soon they reached a place just outside Mt. Moon and decided to rest and do some eating and fishing.

"Yes! I shall catch a new pokemon!" Cress said in gusto before walking into the brush.

"Cress sure is excited," Chili said.

"Yes I do believe our brother is ready to catch a new pokemon," Cilan nodded.

"Little kid behavior," Iris snorted.

"But being excited can be fun," Ritchie replied.

"Sure... I little kid would think that," Iris responded with a sly grin.

"Don't bother Ritchie, you can't win that battle trust me," Ash said with a chuckle.

"Mmm. The sun feels so good today," May stretched happily.

"You said it!" Dawn replied.

Ritchie got up and headed out to go fishing as well. Everyone started to relax when,

Ash's crystal started to glow.

"Whoa hey what's up?" Gary asked.

"Must be something Lucario needs to tell me," Ash said before summoning Lucario's pokeball and releasing his partner, "What's up Lucario?"

**Master I have good news. Sceptile and Meganium's egg has hatched.**

"Wow! That's great!" Ash shouted.

"Wait you mean your Sceptile and Maganium..." Max started.

"Hmmm. I guess Sceptile never left his thing for Meganiums," Brock noted.

"Huh. That's cool so now you have a new pokemon," Drew smiled.

"Yeah. I guess I need to meet uh... Is it a boy or girl?" Ash asked summoning Sceptile and Meganium's pokeballs.

**A boy Master. He seems to take after his father personality wise.**

"Interesting," Paul spoke.

"Alright, Let's go guys!" Ash says as Sceptile emerged from his pokeball and Meganium followed from hers holding a small pokemon, "Congratulations, guys!" Ash smiled happily before hugging Sceptile.

"Scep tile tile scep," Sceptile responded with a grin.

"Mega nium meg," Meganium smiled as Ash and Pikachu, followed by the rest of the group, approach to see the new addition.

The Chikorita looked a bit ruffled in some places and a tad darker than his mother. He looked up and saw Ash. At first he just stared until his mother prompted him forward a bit.

"Hey there... It's great to meet you, I'm Ash and this is Pikachu," Ash smiled.

"Pika chu chu!" Pikachu responded.

"And these guys are my friends," Ash said gesturing to the group of people, "There are a couple more but they're busy right now."

"Chik-a," Chikorita nodded and then wagged it's leaf.

Ash rubbed its head, "Welcome to the family, Chikorita."

"Welcome," The rest of the group said.

"You can become good friends with Cubone since you guys are really close in age," Ash said with a smile.

"Chikorita!" The young pokemon chirped.

Ash retrieved a pokeball for Chikorita and once he was captured he sent the new family back to the tree with Lucario.

"That's so cool," Chili grinned.

"Yeah so sweet," Iris smiled.

Eventually Cress and Ritchie came walking through the brush,

"Well I came up short, but Cress got something," Ritchie smiled.

"Look!" Cress grinned as he showed a small Poliwag.

"Poli!" It chirped happily in Cress's hands.

"Oh a Poliwag! I remember when my Politoed was once a Poliwag," Misty cooed.

"Yeah Wasn't that when me and Tracey got stun spored in the Orange Islands?" Ash asked scratching his head.

"Yes. Don't remind me," Misty replied.

Everyone finished eating lunch and then proceeded to walk into Mt. Moon. The going was slow at first with not much happening except the few shouts from Misty when a Paras would scuttle by. They entered the halfway point in the cave and suddenly they started to hear voices...

"Okay it's time to split."

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Because, Vane says the boss wants some moon stones. This is the easiest way to get them."

"Oh right, well then, boom goes the dynamite."

The group looked at each other in horror and started to run away when the blast erupted from the ground. The mountain rumbled and rocks fell. Drew saw May about to get crushed by a rock and he dove to push her out of the way. The rock then fell on Drew's leg and he gave a shout of pain

"Ah!Rrrr," Drew shouted then growled at the pain in his leg.

"Drew!" May shouted once she recovered from the shove.

The rumbling finally subsided. Ash had a few nasty cuts on his cheek and shoulder from shielding Misty from some of the blasted material. Brock had a few bruises on his forearms from diving down. Everyone else also had some minor wounds from the explosion. Ash ran over to the rock that was on Drew and started to lift,

"Guys!" Ash called out and soon Gary, Paul, Cilan, Ritchie, and Brock ran over and lifted the heavy stone from their friend's leg.

"Drew, are you okay?" May asked worriedly as she kneeled down to see him.

"I don't know... My leg hurts pretty bad," Drew groaned.

"Thank you... You pushed me out of the way," May said.

"Well you know I don't think chivalry is all dead," Drew smirked trying to overcome the pain.

Drew was helped up and leaned on Paul and Gary's shoulders.

"I think his leg might be hurt really bad. We need to get out of Mt. Moon and to Pewter as quick as possible," Brock said.

"Okay, then let's get going and find our way out super fast," Ash nodded and started to head towards the way the blast went off only to find it blocked by debris.

"Crud!" Max said.

"Go, Nidorino!" Ash said, "Try to dig through this mess."

Nidorino came out and started pushing hard on the rocks, causing some to fall away

"Nidorina! Come on out and help Nidorino!" May said.

Brock's Rhyhorn joined in as well. The three pokemon worked for quite some time before they stopped to rest.

"It just doesn't seem like we're getting through at all," Cilan sighed.

"Well..." Ash looked around and realized he couldn't call out any more pokemon to help because of the confined space. He then kneeled down to Nidorino's level, "Nidorino... Would you like to evolve? It's your choice, we'll find another way out if you don't want to," Ash asked.

Nidorino looked into Ash's eyes and then over at the hurt Drew and then to the wall of rubble, "Nido," It said simply and nodded. Nidorina then walked up and nodded as well

"Nida!" She said happily.

"Nidorina... Thank you," May smiled.

Ash retrieved the two moonstones from his backpack and placed them in front of the two pokemon. The cave was soon filled with a bright white light and Nidoking and Nidoqueen were then in view.

"King!" Nidoking roared and flexed.

"Queen!" Nidoqueen brayed.

They both turned and nodded to each other before starting again with Rhyhorn to bring down the wall. Everyone walked through and made their way past the rubble only to then be confronted by a few grunts,

"Hey there, kiddies whatcha doing down here?" The first taunted.

"Yeah don'tcha know bad things happen in the dark?" the second grinned.

"Nidoking, try a flamethrower!" Ash said.

Nidoking roared and released the flames that danced close to the grunts.

Ash turned to the group and pointed towards a tunnel, "I can sense that that tunnel leads upwards to the surface near Pewter, go. I'll hold them off," Ash said sternly.

"But Ash! They might have back up," Paul hissed.

"Yeah we can't just leave you," Cilan insisted.

"Look I know, but Drew needs to get out of here. I've got this, trust me," Ash said.

"I won't heal well if I think my friend got captured or worse," Drew huffed.

"You honestly think I'm going to let you stay down here alone?" Misty asked.

"Guys," Ash sighed then turned back to them, "Let me take them. I'll be behind you before you know it. I need to know you guys are out of the way before I do this."

Everyone looked at one another, while Misty continued to look into his eyes,

"Please," Ash spoke.

"Fine... Please promise me you'll be out soon," Misty said.

"I promise," Ash nodded as the group started to make their way towards the exit. Ash turned back to the grunts, who have brought out their own pokemon against Nidoking and Pikachu. Once Ash saw the group of his friends leave and return their pokemon, he turned his hat around backwards and called forth a few pokeballs, "Typhlosion, Crawdaut, Garchomp, let's go!"

Roars erupted as the pokemon were released. They echoed up through the tunnels to Ash's friends' ears. Soon they found themselves outside and walking as quick as they can towards the city of Pewter. Once they are more than halfway there Misty started looking over her shoulder repetitively at lying behind them.

"I hope Ash is okay," Misty said.

"I bet he's fine, No need to worry," Dawn added.

"Yeah, Ash is too stubborn for those Rockets' own good," Gary smirked.

Suddenly they felt the earth shaking.

"What now!?" Paul cried out in frustration.

A pokemon burst forth from the ground and landed beside them.

"A Garchomp?" Ritchie asked.

"Wow! What a dragon-type!" Iris grinned.

Ash's head then popped up from the hole in the ground with Pikachu soon following. He is covered in dirt.

"Well that went well," Ash grinned and climbed up, "Thanks Garchomp, awesome job!"

Garchomp then bit down on Ash's head.

"Ouch!" Ash cried out.

"Wow he still does that?" Brock asked bemused.

"Yeah pretty much," Ash said as he petted Garchomp before returning him.

Misty walked up and hugged him. He flinched when she touched his side, "Ash?"

She looked down to see a new gash in his side, "Ash! You're hurt, your side!" She gasped.

The group comes over, "Well from the looks of it... It at least doesn't look too deep," Gary said.

"Well that's good," Max sighed.

"How'd that happen?" Chili asked.

"I guess when a couple of attacks collided, some rock or something flew past me and hit me," Ash said shrugging before wincing in pain from the movement.

"Take it easy okay? We're almost to Pewter," Ritchie spoke.

"Right," Cress added.

Everyone walked on until they reached the city. Eventually they reached a hospital. Everyone was examined for wounds. Ash's cut on his side was wrapped. Ash also retrieved a new shirt from his bag since the other was ripped and bloody. Everyone but Ash and Drew got a clean bill of health. Ash was told to not move too much so his wound could heal and then the doctor came to access Drew's injury.

"It seems as though it isn't broken. The muscles seem to just be hardened up to prevent further damage to the leg. You'll need to not run for a week or so, walking's okay if you don't over do it. Here's some pain pills for when it gets rough and don't forget not to rest too much or it will get very stiff," The doctor instructed.

Soon everyone was walking out of the hospital, Drew limping but still walking.

"Well I'm glad we made it out of that in relatively one piece," Misty sighed.

"You're telling me," Brock smiled.

"So, now where?" Iris asked.

"I guess to my house," Brock grinned as the group started to follow him.

As soon as Brock opened the door to his house, he, Ash, and Misty were pounced on by Brock's many siblings.

"Guys! Guys! Settle down!" Brock said and laughed.

"Wow! You even brought some other pretty ladies," One of Brock's youngest brothers said with a smile.

"Well... Looks like that runs in the family," Iris muttered.

"Yeah..." Ritchie said nervously.

Everyone walked inside and were introduced to Brock's family. Brock's father told them that Forrest was actually in the middle of a battle, so the group went to see.

"Take the badge already," Forrest growled.

"No!" The girl replied.

"Never thought I'd hear that response from a challenger," Max croaked out.

"You won, so take the stupid badge already!" Forrest said raising his voice.

"No! You didn't try your hardest! I can tell you weren't all in," The girl replied and turned to walk away until she saw Ash, "It's you! The person that gave me back my pokemon when Team Rocket stole them!" She smiled and ran up to Ash and hugged him around the waist. He flinched but didn't yelp in pain.

"Oh yeah, you're that girl," Ash smiled and petted her head.

"My name's Clara," Clara said with a bow.

"Oh. I'm Ash and this is Pikachu," Ash replied.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped.

"Wow! You're the Pikachu that helped take down that bad man's Dodrio. Thank you," Clara smiled.

"Pika pika chu chu!" Pikachu nodded.

"These are my friends," Ash said and then he placed an arm around Misty, "And my angry girlfriend."

Misty smiled until she heard his jab and then she flicked his nose, "Careful, I make the jabs remember?"

"No fair," Ash said rubbing his nose.

"Forrest, It's good to see you again, bro!" Brock smiled as his brother approached.

"Awesome, so this is your group for the Master Challenge? Sweet," Forrest grinned.

"Forrest I'll come back tomorrow and battle you again, this time try harder!" Clara pouted before turning around waving at Ash and the group and running out the door.

"What was that all about?" May asked.

"Yeah," Max added.

"Well... I haven't been doing great with the gym recently... Apparently she wasn't satisfied with her Pewter gym experience," Forrest mumbled.

"Hmmm... Why do you think that is?" Brock asked.

"I don't know... I'm just kinda an in a funk and can't get out," Forrest shrugged.

"Perhaps you've lost the drive to battle with all your might?" Cilan asked.

"Sounds plausible," Cress agreed.

"How do we fix that?" Chili asked.

"Well... I don't know how long I can keep losing and not let the gym go too far under... Brock, maybe you should come back... I know you're normally busy with the breeding center... but..." Forrest sighed.

Everyone looked at each other in worry. The thought of Brock having to stay behind upset them.

"Well we've got to try and get you out of this funk," Ritchie said with confidence.

"Agreed," Paul nodded.

"Maybe you should battle one of us," Drew said.

"I'll battle you, Forrest," Max said suddenly, "Ash and Drew are kinda hurt and I haven't battled an official match since the elimination rounds in the Master Challenge.

"Sounds like a good idea," Gary said.

Everyone agreed and soon Forrest was stationed at one side of the field and Max at the other. Brock refereed.

"This will be a one-on-one match between Max Maple of Petalburg and Forrest Harrison of Pewter city's gym. Trainers choose your pokemon!" Brock said.

"Go, Rhyperior!" Forrest shouted.

"Go, Numel!" Max cried.

"Begin!" Brock shouted.

"Numel, use Magnitude!"

Numel obeyed and the ground shook slightly and Rhyperior grunted.

"Rhyperior use Horn attack!" Forrest commanded.

The attack hit and Numel cried out in pain.

"Use focus energy, Numel!" Max replied.

"Horn attack again!" Forrest said.

"Earth power!" Max called out suddenly.

The attack shot through the ground and struck Rhyperior hard.

zzzzz-The rest of the group-zzzzz

"Max sure has become a good trainer, I'm real proud of him," Ash said smiling.

"I feel the same," May nodded.

"Yes, typically a trainer his age makes the mistake of going too head on into battle." Paul nodded.

"Hmmm... Where does that sound familiar?" Misty grinned and raised an eyebrow in Ash's direction.

Some in the group started to snicker.

"Gee thanks, Mist," Ash said before sinking into his chair.

Gary finished snickering and replied, "Aww we're just messing with ya. You turned out well... considering how you started," Gary added getting some laughs from the group.

Ash gave Gary and glare and all but disappeared in his seat.

"I'm a little concerned about Forrest though... He is kinda lagging," Brock said suddenly.

Everyone got quiet and Ash returned his attention to the battle with the rest of the group.

zzzz-The field-zzzz

"Rhyperior, surf!"

"Numel, use lavaplume!" Max returned.

The attacks met and steam started to rise. The surf though was starting to break through when suddenly Numel started to glow a bright white.

"Camerupt!" Max's pokemon roared before fire erupted around it's body ridding the arena of the last of the water.

"Awesome! Camerupt use Bulldoze!" Max cried out.

"Rhyperior, Bulldoze also!" Forrest replied suddenly much more excited.

The two pokemon met in the middle before colliding and causing a large explosion. Once the cloud of dust settled, the pokemon remained pushing against each other. Then they both cried out and collapsed at the same time.

"Rhyperior and Camerupt are unable to battle, this match is a draw!" Brock shouted.

The trainer's recalled their pokemon and everyone met in the middle.

"That was a great battle, Forrest. I don't think you're in a funk at all. I'm so psyched that Numel evolved!" Max smiled.

"Hey, thanks Max... I guess if you can compete in the Master Challenge then I can run a gym. Clara won't see what hit her tomorrow!" Forrest said triumphantly.

Everyone smiled and agreed before heading back into the house. Everyone got ready for bed.

zzzzzzz

In the morning, everyone ate breakfast and then went to train their pokemon. Ash was watching his Jolteon work on even further increasing his speed and Espeon increasing the power of his psychic. Misty worked with Eevee and Chinchou. Everyone else also trained with some of their newer additions.

Eventually Clara came through the gym doors, "Hey! Forrest I'm back! You ready?"

"You bet!" Forrest smiled which caused Clara to blush and smile back.

"That's what I like to hear!" Clara responded.

Everyone returned their pokemon and got up in the stands, Cilan offered to referee this time,

"This will be a battle between Forrest Harrison of the Pewter city gym and Clara Reeds of Viridian. This battle will be a 3-on-3 battle only the challenger is allowed to substitute. Trainer's choose your pokemon!" Cilan spoke.

"Go, Sandshrew!" Forrest shouted.

"Okay, go Bulbasaur!" Clara replied.

"Begin!" Cilan declared.

"Sandshrew, dig!" Forrest said quickly.

Clara huffed being unable to attack, "Be patient and um try to sense where it is."

Sandshrew then came up through the ground, launching Bulbasaur into the air.

"Ah! Use razor leaf!" Clara said.

The leaves shot from her pokemon and collided with Sandshrew who cried out. Bulbasaur fell awkwardly onto the ground and pulled itself back up onto its feet.

"Use, scratch!" Forrest called out.

Sandshrew ran forward and started to barrage Bulbasaur with its claw.

"Throw it with vine whip!" Clara replied.

Her pokemon obeyed and Sandshrew flew before landing on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle, Forrest choose your next pokemon!" Cilan spoke.

Forrest recalled Sandshrew and thanked him. He nodded and tossed out his next pokemon, "Go, Dugtrio!"

zzzz-Stands-zzzz

"Oh no. One down for Forrest," Dawn frowned.

"Yeah but Clara's Bulbasaur seemed pretty strong and being grass type didn't help Forrest's odds either," Gary observed.

"I think Forrest is still fine though," Brock said and smiled, "He hasn't given up yet, that's what's important."

Everyone nodded.

zzzz-Field-zzzz

"Dugtrio, Slash attack now!" Forrest called.

Dugtrio approached Bulbasaur quickly and slashed it. The seed pokemon crumpled to the ground, unable to fight anymore.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, Clara please choose your next pokemon!" Cilan declared.

Soon Clara called out her next pokemon, "Go, Butterfree!"

Clara smiled and spoke again, "You're going to have some trouble with my Butterfree avoiding all your ground type moves."

"We'll see," Forrest smiled, "Dugtrio, use stealth rock followed by Rock tomb!"

Rocks soon surrounded Clara's side of the field and then some of them came forward and pelted Butterfree

"Oh no!" Clara cried, "Butterfree, use Psybeam!"

"Freeeee!" Butterfree called out and hit Dugtrio with the move.

"Now, Energy ball!" Clara replied and smiled.

Soon that move too collided with Dugtrio.

"Dugtrio, Toxic!" Forrest cried before the move hit. The toxic hit Butterfree and it cried out weakly. Dugtrio slumped to the ground with swirls in it's eyes.

"Dugtrio is unable to battle, Forrest please choose your final pokemon," Cilan stated.

zzzzz-Stands-zzzzz

"Forrest has only one pokemon left," Max said worriedly.

"Yeah," Chili nodded.

"It seems to me that Forrest is actually leading Clara into a trap," Drew said astutely, before swallowing a pain pill.

"Your leg hurting you?" May asked with a frown.

"Yeah, not too bad though. It was bothering me a bit with the aching though, thought I'd take a break," Drew answered.

"I actually agree with you. That stealth rock will give Clara trouble," Paul nodded.

Everyone continued to watch.

zzzzz-Field-zzzzz

"Go, Rhyperior!" Forrest called his most experienced fighter.

"Butterfree, use Psybeam!" Clara said quickly.

"Rock wrecker!" Forrest yelled.

Before Butterfree could react, the large stone slammed into her and she fell to the ground out cold.

"Butterfree is unable to battle, Clara please use your last pokemon," Cilan responded.

"Go, Mankey!" Clara shouted.

Suddenly the stones that had been floating nearby came shooting at Makey and slammed into him.

"Mankey, are you okay?" Clara asked, concerned.

Her pokemon nodded and faced his opponent.

"Rhyperior use Horn attack!" Forrest yelled.

Clara smiled, "Grab that horn and use Karate chop!"

The monkey pokemon grabbed Rhyperior's horn as it came to hit him and then crashed the side of his hand into Rhyperior's chest below.

"Rhyyyy!" Rhyperior growled.

"Shake him off now!" Forrest replied.

Rhyperior shook furiously and Mankey was flung off.

"Mankey, dig now!" Clara replied.

Her pokemon flipped in the air and started to dig through the ground as he approached its surface.

"Come out and use, Low sweep!" Clara yelled.

Mankey soon came out of the ground near Rhyperior's feet and swept his feet with one of his own. Rhyperior started to fall and soon crashed to the ground.

"Ha! Your Rhyperior is so bulky and heavy, he has to be down now," Clara stated.

"Don't count your Psyduck before they hatch, Clara!" Forrest said with a smile, "Use Bulldoze!"

Rhyperior got up and charged at Mankey.

"Dig again!" Clara called.

Mankey soon obeyed.

"Rhyperior, Earthquake," Forrest said simply.

"No!" Clara cried out.

The earth began to shake and after a while it stopped and silence descended on the field. Mankey then crawled out of the hole it had dug and collapsed.

"Mankey is unable to battle, which means Forrest, the gym leader, is the winner!" Cilan said.

Both trainers retrieved their pokemon and the rest of the group joined them in the center of the field.

"Now that's the kind of battle I wanted. I'm going to have to train a lot harder if I want to get that Boulder badge now," Clara said smiling.

"Here. Take it," Forrest said smiling.

"Wait what?" Clara said surprised.

"The gym leader is able to give a challenger the badge even if they lose. The challenger only has to prove the bond between them and their pokemon or prove themselves otherwise to the gym leader," Brock said with a smile.

"Sound familiar, Ash?" Misty asked teasing him even more.

"Ha ha. What is this? Tease Ash day?" Ash snapped and then sulked.

"You helped me to realize I was being sloppy, Clara. You deserve this," Forrest said.

"No, I want to earn it fairly in battle," Clara said simply.

"Take it!" Forrest said angrily.

"No!" Clara snapped back.

Forrest suddenly grabbed her hand roughly and forced the badge into her hand and then put both of his hands around her hand. Clara blushed fiercely.

"You did earn it, Clara," Forrest said finally and smiled.

Clara snapped back out of her daze and spoke, "Okay, fine you win. Next time though I'll win. Bye Forrest... I hope to see you again soon," Clara said before blushing and turning to walk away and out of the gym doors.

"You know... Forrest... The last time a challenger like that entered the gym I followed that desire to follow and it changed my life forever... Do you feel that pull, Forrest? Do you want to follow?" Brock asked suddenly.

Everyone looked in shock at Brock; Ash and Misty nodded in understanding and smiled. Forrest looked back out towards the door Clara had exited,

"Yeah... I... I do," Forrest said finally.

"Then go... I'll handle it, bro," Someone new said.

Everyone turned to see Salvadore, Brock and Forrest's younger brother.

"I'm the next oldest brother, I can handle the gym while dad finishes training me. Brock got his chance and now it's your turn, Forrest. Go and get her," Salvadore smiled.

"Yeah... Yeah!" Forrest said suddenly with excitement.

Soon Brock's family and Ash's group were standing outside seeing an excited Forrest off.

"Good luck and take care!" Everyone shouted.

"I will! Thanks everyone!" Forrest yelled.

Forrest soon disappeared over the horizon in the direction that Clara left.

"It seems like just yesterday, That I made the same decision..." Brock smiled.

"Well... What can you say? Did you like your choice?" Ash asked with a smile.

Brock smiled and looked over at Ash and Misty, May and Max, Dawn, and then the rest of the group, "You know... I have been lost, almost destroyed by multiple legendary pokemon, had to resolve arguments, cook for a small army, fight against three criminal organizations, and travel goodness knows how many miles..." Brock paused and smiled and looked in the direction of where Forrest disappeared, "And I wouldn't trade it for the world..."

Everyone smiled and Misty turned towards Ash, "Good news for Forrest is that he won't have to deal with someone as danger prone as you."

"More teasing!?" Ash pouted and everyone laughed. Suddenly Ash smiled and then turned towards the direction that Forrest disappeared as well, "Well I know one thing... Clara will appreciate the company... the friendship... I know... I know I did."

Brock then ruffled Ash's hair, "Yeah me too, big guy... Me too."

The group then turned around to head into town to do some shopping. They needed to gather some things that they were running low on after the travel they had already done. After they were done shopping, they headed out to the breeding center Brock had helped set up.

"Here we are," Brock said walking in.

The group noticed some people walking around and a Nurse Joy walking into another room. Brock talked to a couple people and led the group into a room.

"These three eggs are going to hatch within the next hour. Let's see if you guess right, Ash. What's in these eggs?" Brock asked.

Soon everyone's eyes were on Ash. He stepped forward and stared at the first egg then closed his eyes.

"This one has... This one has a Iggybuff in it," Ash said he then proceeded to say that the other two eggs contained a Darumaka and an Aerodactyl, respectively. After a while of waiting, Ash's choices turned out to be true. The Igglybuff was taken by two nurses for a check up, but when Brock tried to do the same for Aerodactyl, it jumped up and grabbed onto Iris's head. Darumaka kept running around and then collided with Chili's legs.

"Oh! Well hi there," Iris said looking up at the small Pterodactyl pokemon baby.

"He's so cute!" May cooed.

"To be honest he doesn't have a trainer that's coming to pick him up. Would you like to have him, Iris? I know Lance uses an Aerodactyl and you're trying to become a dragon master. I know Aerodactyl isn't exactly a dragon type but, eh. You're trying to catch a lot of dragon-like pokemon so, what do you say?" Brock asked, "Darumaka also needs a good home, Chili."

"Yeah, boy! I'd love him," Chili smiled happily and picked up the pokemon.

"Wow! Yeah! What do you think, Aerodactyl? Wanna be my pokemon?" Iris asked.

"Craww!" The young pokmon called.

Iris soon captured the Aerodactyl and Chili captured Darumaka. Brock said goodbye to the patrons of the Breeding center. The group started talking to Ash about his accuracy in reading what pokemon were in the eggs when they came upon two miners arguing,

"You should be more careful where you place those explosives!" One said.

"No need, They're just rocks," The second said, "We're after gold not those silly fossils of yours."

The second man walked off.

"Why that arrogant little..." The first said.

"Is everything okay, sir?" Ritchie asked as they approached.

"Oh!" The man said turning to face them, "Well yes... I suppose so. That man there is the demolitions expert of our crew and keeps blowing up anything that doesn't sparkle. I saved this rock right here. I don't know if it's a fossil or not, that's not really my specialty. My name's Waldo Pickens by the way."

Everyone introduced themselves. Suddenly,

"Waldo! Where's Waldo?! Has anyone seen Waldo!?" Someone shouted getting the group's attention as well as Waldo's attention.

"Well, I've got to go... Here how about one of you folks take this rock?" Waldo asked.

"I will, I have a fascination for fossils and such," Cress smiled.

"Just like Cilan does with, fishing, trains, and detective work and various other odd things?" Iris asked.

"Sort of, I act normal about my hobbies though," Cress nodded. Cilan face-faulted. He then took the rock from Waldo.

Afterwards the group turned to go and Brock suggested they go the Pewter city museum to see if it could be revived.

Soon the group was waiting in the waiting room of the museum to seem Cress's new pokemon. The scientists there had confirmed that the rock was a fossil. Finally a woman walked out and handed Cress a pokeball,

"Congratulations sir, you are now in possession of a Omanyte," The woman smiled and then said goodbye.

"Awesome! You have a fossil pokemon now, Cress!" Ash said happily.

"Let's meet him," Max nodded excitedly.

"Okay!" Cress grinned and released his new pokemon.

"Omm," The pokemon droned when it came out.

Everyone said hello and then Cress leaned down, "Nice to meet you, I hope we can become good friends and fighting partners."

Omanyte chirped happily and then,

"OH MY!" Cress yelped as the Omanyte suddenly plastered itself onto Cress's face.

"HA HA HA HA!" Chili started laughing so hard he fell to the floor, crying.

Gary and Ash tried without success to pull the creature from Cress's face

"It's like he's being taken over by an alien or something," May said and stuck her tongue out slightly in disgust.

"It's hilarious though," Iris grinned.

"Oh Iris your so bad," Dawn giggled.

Finally Paul helped Ash and Gary to pull the pokemon from Cress's face.

"Well... You two will certainly make an interesting recipe..." Cilan said weakly.

"No doubt," Max sighed.

Omanyte then gurgled and squeaked happily.

Cress returned Omanyte and the team returned to Brock's home to eat and sleep there until tomorrow when they would then start heading towards Viridian.

ZZZZ=With Forrest earlier once he left=ZZZZ

Forrest walked but then started running. He had to find Clara before she got too far away. Finally he saw her walking down the path ahead. He started to run and call her name,

"Clara! Hey Clara, Wait!"

Clara turned around to see him, "Forrest? What are you doing out here?"

Forrest stopped in front of her and started to catch his breath. Finally he spoke, "I wanted to travel with you... I want to be a rock type pokemon expert... I want to travel with someone and grow a bit stronger in my abilities as a gym leader and I thought it might as well be you."

Clara blushed and then smiled, "Is that so? Well... If you can keep up then you can stay," Clara said cheekily before sticking out her tongue.

"Oh I'll speed past ya, don't worry," Forrest grinned.

"No way!" Clara replied back.

"Yes way!" Forrest retorted.

They stared at each other for a moment before both started to laugh.

"Let's go then... I want to get to the next city before nightfall," Clara smiled.

"Alrighty then," Forrest nodded.

They both started walking down the road together.

_Thanks, Brock, Salvadore, guys... I'm going to make the best of this and when I come back... I'll be the one this time with stories to tell..._ Forrest thought as he walked beside his new traveling partner to begin a story all their own.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Ash and the others soon went to bed...

zzzzzzzzzzz

_A blue orb rested in the puddle... It pulsed with blue light... Ash... could feel it and it felt... alive... _

_Aura..._

_That's what he felt from it... It looked so familiar too... Suddenly a crack formed in the sphere and he heard rumbling_

_He turned to see a giant wave approaching... He braced himself and the wave washed over him... Suddenly he was on an alter and the water surrounded it like an island... Three spheres... again this place felt familiar..._

_He turned around only to see his surroundings change again... he was at the edge of a lake... A blue light pulsing from it's center... It was starting to annoy Ash that he felt he knew all these places but couldn't quite place them..._

_A field of beautiful flowers and a large home with ancient ruins back on the mountain behind it..._

_An under water palace..._

_A tower reflecting in golden light..._

_Next a place full of stone pillars and wild pokemon everywhere... Ash sees a comet fly through the air..._

_He then is taken into the valley and finds himself in a cave... Lava and water bubble somehow together... A tower that reaches to the sky..._

_A rocky tower forms from the center of a desert, rising to the sky..._

_A building that splits into two towers like a castle... _

_A white light atop a steep mountain... A dark cavern..._

_A field hidden from the world..._

_A tower shaped like a sword with a beautiful view of the ocean... Down in it's dungeon freezing air comes forth..._

_A forest grotto..._

_An icy temple with statues everywhere..._

_An island..._

_A canyon with beatiful flowers and clear water..._

_A misty wood with fireflies..._

_Several other places flash through his mind so quickly he hardly gets the chance to see them..._

_Lavender tower flashes by quickly..._

_Finally Ash sees... The tree of beginning..._

**_The hearts... they have been calmed but not healed... They... must... Healed..._**

_The familiar voice is soon replaced by a man... Cloaked in darkness... Some familiar faces appear but yet again can't be placed..._

_A man with slicked back hair and a black suit..._

_A man with tattered pale-green hair and a cloak..._

_Others seem familiar but start to fade..._

_The one cloaked in darkness speaks..._

_"You will fail... You friends, the one's you know, will suffer the consequences... I will make sure of it..."_

_A Zoroark appears and suddenly Ash feels great pain as dark energy spirals around him... He feels energy being drained from him... He crashes to the ground and the man starts to laugh._

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

**So the main mystery/plot finally comes into view. The tournament is one of the features of this story but this my friends is the real deal... Any who:**

**Answers to some questions in the reviews:**

**Pokemon lover x7: I will try to place a link at the end of the Arc. :)**

**Fan: I will give Pignite/Emboar a chance to fight Shamus, but it may be a little while before that happens.**

**zzzzzz**

**Now sorry for the chapter being so long, but I wanted to end it at this point specifically and so there you have it XD**

**The dream has some places from the anime if you can tell and a few that I've made up. You'll have to wait and see what places they are :)**

**The waldo joke I just kinda came up with on the fly cause it was funny to me, eh.**

**The alien joke and the dynamite joke follows the same idea although Cress will have his hands full with the little nautilus pokemon in the future :D**

**Thanks for viewing, review, fav, follow, and enjoy! **


	17. Doubts and Contest Bouts

**I have a question for all who are reading this story. Check the new poll on my profile, please :)**

**Arlghty, on to the good stuff:**

zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"AHHHHHH! NOOO!" Ash yelled loudly as he suddenly woke from his nightmare.

Everyone in the room and soon the whole group converged on Ash,

"Ash! Ash what's wrong?" Misty asked as she wrapped her arms around him. He flinched at her touch. His eyes looked up at her; they were wide with fear.

"Ash... It's okay I'm here... We're all here," Misty said calmly, she wasn't used to seeing Ash so afraid and tried her hardest to comfort him.

Ash's breathing started to slow. Pikachu wrapped his little arms as far around Ash as he could,

"Pika chu chu PikaPi," Pikachu said quietly.

Ash finally calmed down enough to speak, "I... I had a nightmare... I was shown all of these different places... and then this man... and some others that looked familiar came. He attacked me after telling me I was going to fail... and that you..." Ash stopped for a moment, "That you all would pay... I guess for helping me... I think this dream has something to do with that writing on the wall in the unknown dungeon."

Everyone sat for a moment trying to let everything Ash said, sink in.

"What were these places, again?" Gary asked.

"I couldn't remember... and I can't now, sadly," Ash said with a frown, "But I think I've been to all of those places before."

"The places..." Paul said suddenly getting everyone's attention, "You were shown the places on the earth that need to be healed, at least maybe the most important ones."

"I think... I think you might be right... Because I did see the tree of beginning as well. The hearts..." Ash added.

"Well... I think the only thing we can do about it right now is wait and see if you can remember with time or have the dream again only clearer. Don't worry Ash; we won't be scared away that easily, you're our friend. We won't let you do this alone," Brock said before placing a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Yeah," Ash nodded and tried to smile.

Everyone then went back to sleep.

zzzzzzzz

In the morning, everyone got ready to leave for Viridian.

"AHHHHHCK!" Gary yelled as he awoke with tentacles plastered to his face.

"HAHAHAHA!" Ash started laughing hysterically as Brock, Drew, and Cress tried to pry Cress's Omanyte off Gary's face.

The pokemon had been let out by Cress that morning and had disappeared. Gary's yelling located the pokemon for them.

"Ouch!" Gary yelped as the suckers from Omanyte pulled at his skin as it was dislodged.

"Sorry about that, Gary," Cress said apologetically.

"Meh, No harm done... I think," Gary said before turning his attention to the laughing Ash, "Just you wait, Ashy-Boy, you're next."

Ash then stopped and laughed more nervously before gulping.

Everyone ate a nice breakfast after that, then set out towards the main, more well known, part of Viridian forest. They soon found themselves entering the forest. Misty of course became plastered to Ash in fear of any bugs.

"It's okay Mist... Only Caterpie and Weedle here. The worst we have to worry about are Beedrill," Ash said trying to calm his girlfriend.

"Easy for you to say," Misty grumbled.

"Uh oh," Ash said suddenly and sweatdropped.

"What?" Paul asked.

"Beedrill!" Ash yelled before a swarm shot out from bushes and trees from their left. Everyone hit the deck to avoid getting shish-kabobbed.

"Growlithe!" Chili cried out, releasing his pokemon.

"Torkoal let's go!" Ash replied, tossing out his own pokemon.

"Quilava! Spotlight!" Dawn yelled, releasing one of her fighters as well.

Using Flamethrower, the three drove back the swarm into another part of the forest. The group returned their pokemon and turned to each other.

"Wonder what that was about?" Max asked.

"Yeah those Beedrill just kinda freaked out," Iris added.

"Maybe something spooked them?" Cilan asked.

"Probably," Drew nodded.

"Yeah... You're right. This way, something's hurt," Ash said and then started walking into the brush beside them. The group soon followed and came upon a hurt pokemon.

"It's a... a Pikachu!" May said, shocked.

"You're right May. Pikachu's can be found here but they're pretty rare. This one looks really hurt," Brock said as he slowly tried to approach.

"Pika!" Pikachu spoke before jumping down and walking over to the downed pokemon on his own. Suddenly the Pikachu woke up,

"Pika! Cha!" The Pikachu shouted before swinging out with it's tail to try and strike Ash's Pikachu.

"Pi!" Ash's Pikachu yelped in surprise before easily dodging the move. He started to speak in his own language to the fearful pokemon,

"Pika pika chu chu pi pika chu pika chaaaa..." Pikachu motioned to the group of trainers and pointed at Ash.

The hurt Pikachu looked at Pikachu and then the group... it's tail flicked and everyone could see that it was a female. Her cheeks were a little pinker rather than red and her eyes a bit more light brown than brown or black. Brock then approached slowly and started to treat the pokemon. After a moment, everyone was relieved to see her get up and walk over to Ash's Pikachu. She sniffed him and then waddled over and sniffed Ash's leg. She looked over her shoulder and asked Ash's Pikachu a simple question,

"Pika chu pi pika cha PikaPi?" She asked.

"Chaaa!" Pikachu nodded happily and quite vigorously.

The female Pikachu then smiled and pulled on Ash's pant-leg, "Pika chu PikaPi."

Ash smiled, understanding their talk, and reached into his bag and grabbed a couple things. First he pulled out a quickball and then he pulled out something much older, Pikachu's old pokeball that was tied to a string, "You can stay out with Pikachu if you like. I'll put your pokeball next to Pikachu's for safe keeping."

The female Pikachu nodded, "Chaaa."

The quickball soon captured the female and then Ash brought her out. He clipped the quickball into place beside Pikachu's and put them both back in his backpack, "I might actually need to nickname you or something since, well, having two Pikachu's will be confusing. Ritchie this is kinda your thing. What do ya think?"

"Hmmm..." Ritchie thought before smiling, "How about, Ellie? Since she's electric type and all."

"I like it! It's cute," May smiled.

"Yeah," Misty nodded.

Everyone else seemed to nod in agreement,

"All right then, welcome to the team, Ellie! You like that?" Ash smiled.

"Cha!" Ellie nodded and followed Pikachu carefully up to Ash's other shoulder.

The group continued walking through the woods and finally started to see more light come into the forest. They were now on their way out. _I wonder where Samurai went? _Ash thought to himself as they exited the forest. As they entered the city, they noticed everyone was quite excited and running about. Viridian city was having a contest.

"Oh wow! A contest. Must be an unofficial one though, since the Kanto Grand Festival just ended," May said cheerily, looking around at all the excited people.

"Yeah must be," Drew nodded.

"We should enter! We've been having to battle so much. This would be good for us Co-ordinators!" Dawn said happily.

"Yeah! What about you, Drew?" May smiled.

"I want to make sure I don't loose my touch. The Master Challenge is great but this would be good," Drew nodded.

Everyone agreed to stay in Viridian so the three Co-ordinators could compete. They went into the contest hall so they could get registered and bumped into some people they didn't really want to see.

"Ursula?" Dawn asked suddenly. Ursula turned from facing none other than Damian and looked at Dawn,

"Well lookie here it's Dee Dee and her little loser posse," Ursula snorted.

"You know these losers, babe?" Damian said suddenly.

"Don't call me Dee Dee and don't call us losers!" Dawn said angrily.

"Wait. Are you two...?" Misty asked pointing between Damian and Ursula.

"But of course..." Ursula said before placing her arm around Damian's shoulders, "Can't you tell? Oh I get it... You must not know what it looks like to have a boyfriend..." Ursula said.

Misty looked angrily at Ursula before pointing at Ash who then waved, albeit a little nervously.

"Actually I do for your information Ms. Snooty," Misty said waving her hand.

Ursula snorted, "Well it doesn't matter because I'll beat all of you in this contest and the Master Challenge."

"That's right, babe you got this contest in the bag," Damian smirked.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I've seen these guys in action; they're a tough crowd to beat," Gary said with a smile.

"What do you know though? You aren't even a real trainer anymore, Oak," Damian snorted.

"Okay! That's it! Ash give me Charizard! We'll tear him down together for talking about my friends that way!" Dawn growled.

Damian paled slightly and didn't retort, causing Ursula to speak, "You not going to say anything to that?"

"He's probably too scared to talk anymore if Charizard comes out, such a little kid," Iris taunted.

"You seem like the little kid to me," Some one in Damian's group said, "You wouldn't say such a thing about others unless you felt insecure about yourself."

Iris tried to speak, but yet no words came out. Cilan then stepped forward, "You are no better for making such an assumption yourself."

"Who are you? A waiter or their band of butlers?" The boy said. Shamus snorted and laughed.

"I am a pokemon connoisseur. I would appreciate it if you left my friends alone," Cilan said calmly, "We only wish to show good sport and attend this fine contest."

"Who is this guy?" The boy asked Damian with a smirk.

"Don't bother Greg, just another loser," Damian replied before turning and walking away with Ursula in tow. Greg snorted and soon followed with the rest of Damian's group.

"Gah! Who do those guys think they are!?" May said angrily.

"The coolest things to ever live, that's what," Ritchie frowned.

Dawn, May, and Drew soon got registered and split from the group to prepare for the contest. Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary, Max, and Paul went to go explore the city while Cilan, Cress, Chili, Ritchie, and Iris went to go get the whole group some rooms in the pokemon center.

zzzzzzz-Dawn, May, Drew-zzzzzzz

"You okay, Dawn?" May asked, noticing Dawn seemingly spacing out.

"Huh? Oh yeah yeah..." Dawn spoke, mumbling.

"Doesn't sound like it to me," Drew said.

"Well..." Dawn started.

"We can help, Dawn. We're your friends, remember?" May said smiling.

Drew smiled as well and soon Dawn smiled too, "Yeah... I guess it's just been a while since I've faced Ursula... I hope I can still best her."

"We've got this. Our pokemon are ready and we are too. Just a little preparation and we'll be golden. We may have to face each other, but... That will be fun, at least for me it will be," Drew nodded.

The Co-ordinators grinned and then put one hand each into a huddle and grasped each other's hand. All three nodded and began to prepare for the contest.

zzzzzz-Cilan, Cress, Chili, Ritchie, Iris-zzzzzz

"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy," Cress nodded.

"Yes thank you!" Chili bowed.

"Oh no trouble at all boys. A lot of trainers have been packing into the centers recently so I'm prepared for this," Joy smiled.

Cress and Chili walked back to their friends to see Cilan and Ritchie apparently consoling a sad Iris.

"Iris... Why are you upset?" Ritchie asked.

"..." Iris just covered her face with her hands.

"Come on, Iris. We can't help unless you talk," Cress frowned.

"Yeah Let us help," Chili said then smiled.

"..." Yet again Iris said nothing.

"Iris... are you sad because of that Greg character at the contest hall?" Cilan asked suddenly.

Iris looked up at him with a bit of shock, then slowly tears started to form in her eyes,

"I'm not a little kid. I'm not..." Iris said as tears started to run down her cheeks. Cilan pulled her close and she soon started to cry into his chest.

"Iris..." Ritchie said with sadness.

"You aren't a little kid. You care about your friends a lot right? And you say that to Ash and the others as a form of constructive criticism, correct?" Cilan spoke.

"Yeah..." Iris mumbled.

"Then that is a very mature thing to do. He's the immature one for inciting a fight along with Damian and Ursula. If anything they're the insecure ones for feeling the need to lash out at others," Cilan smiled as Iris wiped her eyes and scooted away to look at him.

"The only problem is that I am insecure..." Iris said.

"Why?" Chili asked.

"Because I guess I'm just not used to being around people much... With Cilan and Ash before it was okay... but now with all of us... I guess I feel a little out of place... I don't know how to well... fit in," Iris replied.

"Just continue being yourself, Iris. That's all you can do. Otherwise just know that we won't dessert you, ever," Cilan nodded.

Iris looked at him and the rest of the group as some sort of fear in her eyes slowly disappeared.

"You're really fun to travel with and be friends with. What you're feeling is normal. We're in a big group, it's inevitable that each of us will feel a little alone, ironically, from time to time," Cress smiled.

"Yeah, Imagine how Paul feels... He's never even really felt like he's had friends before... We all have our flaws, but that's why we're friends like Brock said, to pick up each other's slack," Ritchie added.

Iris nodded and then smiled brightly, wiping away the last remnants of her tears, "Thanks guys. I won't let him get to me anymore. I'm Iris, future dragon master! I can't be crying like a little kid!" Iris smiled, "That wouldn't be fair to you guys, as my friends."

They all smiled and then got up to leave and find Ash's group. Iris turned to Cilan as they were walking out and spoke so only he could hear, "Thanks Cilan... You're a wonderful friend." She then picked up the pace and got ahead of him.

"Yeah... You too Iris... My pleasure," Cilan smiled with a slight blush and then walked out to join his brothers and friends.

zzzzzz-Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary, Max, and Paul-zzzzzz

"And so then I told Lucario to make my day... Man that was a mistake. He beat me so quick I didn't know which way was up. I've gotta get him back for that one day," Ash grinned after finishing his story. The group laughed until Brock noticed Gary was lagging behind and not enjoying the jokes.

"You okay, Gary?" Brock asked.

The group turned to now notice Gary as well. Ash soon got upset when he saw the frown on Gary's face,

"Hey, What's up Gary? No frowning in this group," Ash said playfully trying to elicit a laugh from his rival.

"Sorry I just guess I was thinking about what Damian said about me not being a trainer anymore. I mean I love battling but my passion is in pokemon research... Maybe I shouldn't have entered this Master Challenge after all," Gary mused.

Ash took on a look of disbelief at his rival's words; Pikachu also seemed to copy the same look, while Ellie just tilted her head in confusion.

"Don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself, Gary? This challenge is for fun, most importantly. Also just because you're a researcher now doesn't mean you can't battle," Misty said with determination.

"Misty's right. I'm a pokemon doctor, does that mean I can't battle well? No," Brock smiled.

"Yeah, Gary I've seen your battles before like Ash's. You're a great trainer and your know how on pokemon has got to be only a help and not a hinderance," Max nodded.

"Damian wouldn't know talent if it was standing in front of him," Ash grinned.

"Or it tries to turn him into a smoldering heap with a Flamethrower," Paul added with a smirk that soon brought the whole group into a fit of laughter.

"Okay. Okay. Thanks guys," Gary smiled and started to talk happily with the group once more. Soon Cilan and his group joined back up with them and as they talked, Gary looked off towards the contest hall and suddenly a look of determination came to his face...

zzzzzz-Viridian city contest-zzzzzz

Welcome one and all to Viridian city's first ever pokemon contest!

The crowd roared with their approval.

We have some exciting competition today! So let's welcome our first contestant, Bella Aderose!

zzzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzzz

"This is going to be great! Go May!" Max yelled.

"Man I don't know who to cheer for. They're all my friends," Ash frowned.

"Just cheer for all of them, Ash," Misty said, smiling sweetly.

Everyone cheered some more and turned back when they heard the next appeal.

zzzzzz-The stage-zzzzzz

Thank you Bella. Next we have Miss Dawn Berlitz a well known co-ordinator from Sinnoh!

Dawn walked onto the stage. She wore a beautiful green dress that had ruffles around the bottom. She wore a large pink flower in her hair.

"Alright! Gloom, Spotlight!" Dawn called out.

Soon her pokemon stood on the stage and struck a pose.

"Begin with Aromatherapy and then Petal dance!" Dawn smiled.

"Gloom!" Gloom shouted before becoming engulfed in pink petals and a pinkish sweet smelling mist. Gloom started to twist it's body back and forth before spinning within the cyclone of petals like a ballerina.

"Alright! It's time!" Dawn smiled and tossed a sunstone at Gloom, who caught it in her hands and continued to spin as light engulfed her and shone through the holes in the Petal dance.

"Bellossom!" Bellossom spoke, as it now continued to dance in the Petal dance but now even more graceful than before.

"Now use Magical leaf!" Dawn commanded.

Bellossom's cyclone of petals soon had glowing and sparkling leaves added.

"Finish with Sweet scent!" Dawn smiled happily.

"Bell... lossom!" Bellossom said before forcing the petals, magical leaves, and sweet smelling breeze into the crowds around them, gently and gracefully. The petals and leaves drifted down over the crowd with the sweet scent. Bellossom then spun and bowed and Dawn bowed as well.

The crowd erupted into cheers and Dawn turned to face the judges.

"Excellent work! Evolving your pokemon for the contest was a fun and unique entrance. As for the performance, absolutely beautiful!" Mr. Contesta said.

"I feel like I've just taken a nice walk through a forest. A lovely display!" Nurse Joy smiled.

"I noticed you used Aromatherapy at the beginning of your appeal to avoid the side effect of confusion from Petal dance. Excellent combo, remarkable," Mr. Sukizo nodded.

Dawn bowed again and then went off stage with her Bellossom.

zzzzz-In the stands-zzzzz

"Whoa! Dawn evolved her Gloom!" Iris smiled happily.

"Yeah I gave her one of our stones before the contest," Ash smiled.

"Her appeal was really beautiful," Misty smiled.

After a few more appeals, the group watched as Drew came next.

zzzzz-The stage-zzzzz

Our next competitor is Drew Hayden of LaRousse city in Hoenn!

The crowd roared, excited for the next appeal.

Drew walked up with confidence. He was wearing a nice outfit that was similar to Cilan, Cress, and Chili's but he had no bow, the top few buttons were undone, and the vest itself was a dark purple. He wore black slacks and nice dress shoes.

"To the field, Absol!" Drew called.

"Ab.." Absol said simply as it appeared.

"Use Water pulse!" Drew commanded.

Absol raised it's head and shot a sphere of water into the air.

"Use Iron tail and charge up Razor wind!" Drew spoke.

Absol's body quickly took on a white sheen and then Absol leaped up and, with his tail taking on a metallic sheen, he sliced through the water and caused the sphere to implode.

"Release Razor wind!" Drew shouted.

Absol landed and quickly shot the Razor wind attack at the water. When it was all said and done, four waterspouts started to circle Absol. The hall was silent as the water swirled around Absol and gleamed in the spotlights.

"Dark pulse swallow combo!" Drew grinned.

Absol created a sphere of ringed darkness in front of his mouth and then swallowed it. His body turned a dark hue and then the energy came out through the surface of the ground in waves. The energy collided with the waterspouts at their base and instead of them exploding dramatically, they vibrated as if they were alive and shaking with fear. The water splashed and frothed before the spouts dissolved. Dark puddles were left around Absol.

"sol..." Absol said once his performance was complete. He turned with Drew to face the judges after the crowd applauded.

"Wow what a show! Your Absol's calm demeanor and excellent execution of your commands was brilliant. Well done," Mr. Contesta smiled.

"Brrrr. Your display gave me chills. That's a good feeling to have after seeing a wonderful dark type pokemon perform," Nurse Joy nodded.

"I'm quite impressed with how quickly your Absol can charge a Razor wind. You have trained your pokemon well and it shows in your awesome performance, remarkable," Mr. Sukizo smiled.

Drew thanked the judges and left the stage with Absol.

zzzzzz-The stands-zzzzzz

"How interesting... Drew used Dawn's swallow move technique," Brock smiled.

"They must have really helped each other out before the contest," Ash grinned.

"Awesome," Ritchie said.

"Maybe I should try that technique out with my pokemon too," Chili said.

"Yeah, same," Misty smiled.

"I've done it. It can be really helpful if used right," Ash nodded.

"Yeah it seems like a great way to use your pokemon's power in another way. It gives you more options in battle," Gary spoke.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Chu!" Ellie agreed.

They then all turned back when they heard who was next.

zzzzz-The stage-zzzzz

Ladies and gentlemen our next competitor hails from Sinnoh, please welcome Miss Ursula Schoenberg!

Ursula came out with a smirk. She was wearing her familiar black and red dress.

"Go Lilligant!" Ursula said.

"Gant..." The pokemon almost whispered.

"Use Grass knot to set the stage!" Ursula called out.

The grass soon decorated the stage like garlands.

"Petal dance and Teeter dance combo!" Ursula shouted.

Soon Lilligant began dancing around the stage in a waltzing manner. Petals danced around her and music radiated from her body.

"Now Quiver dance and Round!" Ursula said next.

Lilligant then started to glow and energy floated off from her body like powder and glittered. She now spun at timed moments in her dance. Soon she also began to sing with Round.

"Finish with Flash!" Ursula commanded.

Lilligant then used the move and at the last beat of the dance; her Round and dances stopped as the light from Flash faded. The petals drifted to the ground as she remained unmoving. She then came up slowly and bowed with Ursula.

"What a lovely performance. Beautiful dancing. Great job taking advantage of Lilligant's own tempo ability as well," Mr. Contesta smiled.

"It reminds me of the dance classes I once took as a girl," Nurse Joy cooed.

"Although it was lovely I can't help but feel it should have been shown in a pokemon musical rather than a contest. Still a wonderful performance though, remarkable," Mr. Sukizo nodded.

Ursula gritted her teeth slightly at that last comment but bowed with a smile and left the stage with her pokemon.

zzzzz-In stands-zzzzz

"I guess Ursula has a Lilligant now," Brock said.

"Yeah," Ash nodded.

"I agree with Mr. Sukizo though... Too much focus on the dancing," Max said and stuck his tongue out a bit.

"Yes, it was too much of a performance and not enough about showing a pokemon's moves' strength and usefulness for battle," Cress nodded.

"There is a balance that must be reached with the two for a truly great appeal," Cilan spoke.

"Yeah," Iris nodded.

"I think May will be up after this next appeal," Paul noted.

Everyone then waited until it was May's turn.

zzzzz-The stage-zzzzz

Our last competitor is a well known co-ordinator from Hoenn, please welcome Miss May Maple!

The crowd cheered loudly as May came onto the stage in an outfit that looked similar to her outfit from Rota. Her hair though, was completely down and the dress was longer.

"Let's take the stage, Nidoqueen!" May smiled happily.

"Nido!" Nidoqueen brayed and wiggled her ears.

"Use Hidden power!" May shouted.

Nidoqueen shot a sphere of unknown energy into the air.

"Now use Poison sting!" May said next.

Nidoqueen suddenly shot the poison sting into the energy ball, the barbs grew in size and gained a multi-colored sheen. They fell back to the ground and stuck into it.

"Finish with Earth power!" May shouted.

Nidoqueen used the attack and the ground started to ripple. The strong movement of the earth shattered the barbs, lodged in the ground. With each ripple the barbs would implode into a shower of multi-colored sparkles. Nidoqueen then stopped the attack and stood back up straight and bowed with May.

"What a wonderfully simple appeal! So much emotion, power, and elegance compacted into such a short time!" Mr. Contesta praised.

"Beautiful! You successfully showed off the power and beauty that Nidoqueens possess," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Only one thing can describe this appeal, remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo nodded with a bright smile.

May thanked the judges and left the stage with Nidoqueen.

That's it folks! Now we just need to wait for the results of which eight co-ordinators will be moving on to the battle round! We will take a five minute intermission while we wait.

zzzzzz-Drew, May, Dawn-zzzzzz

"Great job, May!" Drew smiled as she walked in and joined him and Dawn in the preparation room.

May blushed a bit before responding, "Thanks Drew, you and Dawn did an amazing job as well."

"Yeah I couldn't have done as good without Dawn helping me with that swallow technique," Drew nodded.

"No need to worry! I enjoyed helping," Dawn smiled.

"I might need to try that out at some point," May nodded.

"What's the big idea, Dawn!? Stealing my evolution entrance idea? Can't you come up with your own ideas?"

The trio turned around to see Ursula walking up to them.

"Lay off! Besides Dawn can come up with her own ideas, like the swallow technique!" May shouted back.

"Whatever. Just get ready to lose Dee Dee! You too, losers," Ursula smirked before walking away.

"Geez who does she think she is," Drew said with a slight growl.

"It doesn't matter who she thinks she is... I think she's a jerk," Dawn nodded.

The trio then laughed together before suddenly they heard the announcer start to announce the results of the appeal room.

zzzzzz-The stage-zzzzzz

The eight co-ordinators moving on to the next round are: Bella Aderose, Dawn Berlitz, Carson Rich, Drew Hayden, Ursula Schoenberg, Greta Danceer, Xander Morris and finally May Maple!

The first two to enter the battle portion of this contest are Dawn Berlitz and Ursula Schoenberg! Please both of you come to the stage!

Soon both trainers came to the stage and faced each other. The timer was soon set.

Trainers ready? Begin!

"Mamoswine, spotlight!" Dawn shouted.

"Go, Garchomp!" Ursula called out.

"Use Hidden power!" Dawn spoke.

Mamoswine fired off the attack.

"Dig!" Ursula cried.

Garchomp dug underground to avoid the attack. Dawn's points dropped a bit.

zzzzzz-In the stands-zzzzzz

"Well that sadly wasn't a good way to start off," Cilan frowned.

"Yeah. I haven't really seen many contests. They seem hard though," Ritchie added.

"Yes there is a difficulty that lies in multitasking the battle and how you look during it," Brock nodded. Misty nodded as well but then noticed Ash wasn't talking.

"You okay?" Misty asked her boyfriend quietly.

Ash seemed to flinch when she touched him and soon he looked at her with a confused expression, "Oh... Yeah yeah... I guess I just thought I felt something..." Ash's eyes flashed blue again once he turned away, "I'll be right back."

Ash got up and said he needed to go to the bathroom. Pikachu and Ellie stayed behind to watch the contest. He walked outside into the entrance hall and released Lucario.

"Hey Lucario. Tell me if you feel something funny," Ash said, "I'm having trouble sorting through everyone's intent since there are so many people here and I don't know who my target is," Ash spoke to his partner.

Lucario nodded, closed his eyes, and allowed his aura appendages to straighten out.

**Yes I sense it Master. Someone is intending to do something. This way.**

Lucario suddenly took off. Ash soon followed.

zzzzzzz-The stage-zzzzzzz

"Now! Ice armor, stop that Dragon claw!" Dawn shouted.

Mamoswine swallowed his attack and soon the ice crystals formed on his back and as Garchomp approached to use herDragon claw; it simply cracked one crystal but couldn't continue to actually hit Mamoswine. Ursula's points soon went down.

"Now Ice shard!" Dawn called out.

Mamoswine obeyed but soon Garchomp dug once again. Dawn's points also went down.

zzzzzzzz-The stands-zzzzzzzz

"Man this is really going back and forth," Max said.

"Yeah!" Chili agreed.

"Pika chu pi!" Pikachu nodded and Ellie did too.

Misty was looking off though and Brock and Gary caught her.

"What's wrong Misty?" Brock asked.

"Well... Ash actually said he thought he felt something... I was worried since he hasn't come back yet," Misty replied.

"Hey I'll go and check on him, how's that?" Brock said.

"I'll go with you. I need to stretch my legs," Paul nodded.

"Okay... Thanks guys," Misty smiled.

The two boys soon got up and left.

zzzzzzzzzzz-Ash-zzzzzzzzzz

"So we just have to throw this small bag onto the stage and the girl's Mamoswine will slow down and get stunned?" One of Damian's posse said.

"Yes... For the last time, Dingo. Yes. It's stun spore, like the attack," Damian grumbled.

"You realize she could still win, right?" Greg snorted.

"Doubtful. They all have weak pokemon," Shamus replied.

Damian started talking to the three again. Ash was standing behind the wall in the hallway listening to the whole thing. He was angry. They were trying to hurt one of his friend's pokemon. Generally he could control his anger now a days, but whenever someone he cared about was in trouble it became increasingly harder to tame.

"Let's go," Ash said simply.

**I will fight for you all the way, Master.** Lucario said, now using a mental aura connection rather than telepathy so that their opponents wouldn't hear them.

Ash walked from behind the wall, "You guys are going to have to stop me first to come close to Mamoswine and Dawn," Ash said firmly, Lucario soon followed and took a defensive stance beside Ash.

Damian and his other two lackeys, plus Shamus, whipped around to see Ash.

"Oh it's just you," Greg said standing up from leaning on the wall.

"Had to go and put your nose were it didn't belong, huh?" Dingo said.

"Look who's talking," Ash said smoothly.

Lucario growled.

"Still have to hide behind your pokemon?" Shamus asked with a cruel smirk.

Lucario barked angrily.

"Nope," Ash said before dropping down into fighting stance with Lucario, since Greg was approaching menacingly, "I fight with my pokemon."

It happened very quickly. Lucario rushed forward at Dingo and Damian. Greg and Shamus rushed at Ash. Damian took a handful of the powder he was holding and threw it into Lucario's face. Lucario whined and his body was wracked with yellow energy showing he was now paralyzed. Greg threw a punch at Ash. Ash dodged it and punched Greg's stomach and Greg wheezed. Shamus approached as well and placed his foot quickly behind Ash's ankle; with Greg's help he successfully tripped him. As Ash fell, he pulled up and rolled back onto his feet and then kicked out and landed a blow into Shamus' gut. Greg became angry and rushed Ash. Ash was unable to withstand the power that Greg used to mash him against the wall. Ash was trapped.

"Thought you had us, huh?" Greg growled.

"You guys aren't that smart, you made it seem easy," Ash tried to smirk before Greg punched him in the gut hard.

"I have some business to attend to. So Greg, Dingo, Shamus, have fun with him." Damian said before turning and walking away. He kicked Lucario who was on the ground, which made Ash shout,

"Leave him alone!" Ash cried out.

Greg grinned and then punched him hard in the gut again.

"You low life cowards!" Someone yelled.

Greg, Dingo, Shamus, and Damian, who still hadn't left, turned to see two people had joined

Paul was angry... He was standing next to Brock, who honestly looked angrier than Ash had ever seen him. Paul then rushed at a surprised Greg and punched him in the face, hard. Greg tumbled down. Brock came forward and grabbed the powder out of Damian's hands. Dingo then tried to rush at Paul. Shamus looked afraid and started to slowly back away. Ash fell to the floor in pain once Greg had let him go from Paul's punch, but he gritted his teeth and thrust out his leg to trip Dingo. Brock saw Lucario as Damian took off. He bent down and tried giving Lucario the cheri-berry snacks he had been eating during the contest. He wasn't sure if it would work but he had to try in such the short notice. Lucario suddenly leapt up and growled in rage. He rushed Greg and Dingo who were now the only two left, facing Paul and a very tired-looking Ash. Two aura spheres shot past their faces and they then took off after Damian and Shamus down the hall. Brock approached them both and helped Ash by letting him lean on him.

"What happened?" Brock asked his younger friend who was holding his gut.

"He was going to sabotage Dawn's performance... I over heard him. I picked up his intent with my aura and came with Lucario to stop them. I didn't really think they would fight, but that Greg guy... Damian stunned Lucario and I was able to fight for a little bit but Greg was just too strong for me," Ash said appearing to be a little angry with himself.

"Well It doesn't matter now. We need to get you somewhere to see if you're okay. That gash of yours could of opened back up," Brock said. No sooner did he say that then he noticed red starting to bleed into Ash's clothes.

"Those worthless..." Paul started to say in rage, before Brock calmed him down.

"I know, but right now you need to be calm. I need you to help me carry Ash," Brock said .

**Master... I'm sorry. I failed you...**

"You didn't fail me Lucario," Ash said.

**I maybe stronger, but my ability to sense people's next move is lacking. I should have known he was going to stun me like that.**

"We'll practice that... how does that sound?" Ash asked with a somewhat pained smile.

Lucario paused and then nodded his head and helped Brock and Paul escort Ash to the nearest Hospital.

zzzzzz-The stage-zzzzzz

"Okay, Dig again!" Ursula said to dodge Mamoswine's most recent attack.

Garchomp panted and then obeyed. The clock was running out and Ursula was in the lead.

"Perfect just what I hoped you do, Now use our secret move, Earthquake!" Dawn shouted.

Mamoswine soon started to make the ground rumble. The ground soon all collapsed a couple feet due to Garchomp's digging and his previous holes she had made.

"No!" Ursula yelled in anger.

Garchomp crawled out of the destroyed ground.

"Finish it, Ice fang!" Dawn called out. Mamoswine rushed forward and slammed into Garchomp with glowing icy tusks.

Well that's all she wrote, folks! Dawn and Mamoswine are our winners for this battle!

We will now have a few hours for a break to fix the field from that last powerful attack-combo!

Everyone soon got up to leave. Dawn returned her pokemon and met up with Drew and May.

"Nice work, Dawn. Ursula thought she could keep digging forever, huh?" May asked.

"Yeah," Dawn nodded.

"You could say she was digging her own grave," Drew grinned and the trio started to laugh. They then saw the rest of the group, and noticed Misty's anxious face and approached quickly.

zzzz-Together-zzzz

"Hey Misty, guys, what's wrong?" May asked as they came forward. The rest of the group turned to May's voice as they came closer.

"Ash left a while ago because he sensed something, then Brock and Paul went to go check on him and none of them have come back," Misty said.

"Did Ash say what it was he felt?" Drew asked.

"Not really," Misty said.

"We just have to go looking that's all," Gary said with a nod; soon though everyone caught sight of Paul coming at them,

"Paul! Paul what happened? Where's Ash and Brock?" Iris asked.

"I'll tell you everything, just follow me," Paul said with a look of anger still on his face.

The group walked as he spoke. Everyone got very angry listening to their tale. Dawn almost cried when she heard how hurt Ash had got for trying to protect her and even more so when they tried to hurt Paul and Brock as well. Misty soon took off running towards their destination of the hospital with Pikachu and Ellie right behind her.

"Those no good lousy..." Drew growled.

"Yes no class at all," Cress said.

Gary on the other hand became very quiet and looked back over at the contest hall again. His once look of determination, replaced with anger.

The group was taken to Ash's room. Ash was sitting up, Misty was yelling at him and Brock was shaking his head. Pikachu and Ellie were curled up on Ash's lap. Lucario sat off to the side smiling. Everyone soon smiled at the scene. Everything was back to normal.

"What were you thinking?!" Misty said as the rest approached.

"Sorry but I didn't think they would fight. I thought if they knew I knew their plan then they'd not follow through... Boy was I wrong. Also I kinda let my anger get the best of me. I didn't want them to hurt Dawn's Mamoswine," Ash said.

Dawn thanked him, Paul, and Brock. The group started to talk happily together until the doctor came in.

"Well Mr. Ketchum, It seems you'll be fine. Your wound only opened slightly and you only got some bruising from your accident. You'll be achy but you'll be fine. Here are some pain pills if you get very uncomfortable. Please try to be more careful with who you encounter," The doctor said before bowing and leaving. Ash started to get dressed and checked out of the hospital, meanwhile Paul disappeared and Dawn left to find him without anyone noticing.

zzzzz-Paul and Dawn-zzzzz

Paul was sitting on a rock, holding one of his hands when Dawn walked up.

"Hey there... You okay, Paul?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, just a cut one of my hands from punching one of those weaklings," Paul said with venom in his voice.

"Well... That's good," Dawn paused, "Is... Is there something else... you know... bothering you Paul?"

Paul flinched and turned around realizing what she had asked. He looked as if he was going to dismiss her like he used to with most people, then his face relaxed to a degree and he sighed,

"I guess I'm just angry... I feel angry like I've never felt before," Paul said, "It's worse than losing to Ash at the Lily of the Valley conference... or Cynthia in the free match... I don't know what it is."

"It's because your friends were attacked," Dawn said simply.

"What?" Paul asked, confused.

"You feel angry but yet powerless, right? You feel like you failed in some unnameable way," Dawn said sitting next to him.

"Yeah... I guess when I saw that Greg guy punch Ash like that... and then learning that Ash was trying to help you... I sort of lost it. Ash is a good friend if he's willing to risk those sorts of things for you and the others... I just hope I can be as good a friend, but I didn't get there in time to help Ash..." Paul replied.

"You are a good friend if you truly feel that way... It's the thought that counts, really. It matters more to Ash and to all of us if you care not if you can punch someone," Dawn smiled.

"Yeah... Thanks I needed this. I've never really had friends like this before. I kind of need a guide," Paul spoke and gave a rare smile.

Dawn then hugged him, "No need to worry." Paul flinched from the sudden contact before he hugged her back with one arm. Then they both blushed at the same time when they realized what they were doing. They separated and then nodded to each other before going to find the others.

zzzz-Together-zzzz

"Are you hurting too bad?" Misty asked Ash as the group walked.

"Naw. I'm sore but I'm good," Ash smiled and pulled Misty closer which made her smile too.

"Well I'm glad you're okay, Ash," Max smiled.

"Yeah, absolutely," Ritchie agreed.

The group walked back to the contest hall. They thought, as they walked through a hallway, that they saw Ursula talking to Damian angrily. This of course made the group smile. The group separated as the trio of Co-ordinators made their way to get ready for their battles.

zzzzzz

Drew and May both won their battles against their opponents. May then battled another opponent and moved into the final round. Soon Dawn and Drew faced off. It was a fierce battle between Dawn's Mamoswine and Drew's Flygon, but in the end, Drew and his Flygon won by a few points with a deflection of Mamoswine's Ice shard by use of a Steel wing, which caused the ice to shatter into sparkling ice powder around Flygon. The final battle approached and May and Drew got to the stage to face each other.

zzzzz-The stage-zzzzz

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the end of the Viridian contest! Our final battle for the Viridian Ribbon! We have both finalists hailing from Hoenn, give it up for May Maple and Drew Hayden!

The crowd roared as the two entered.

Trainer's are you ready? Begin!

"To the field, Flygon!" Drew shouted.

"Let's take the stage, Wartortle!" May replied.

"Water pulse!" May said.

"Flamethrower!" Drew replied.

The water and fire collided in the middle and steam erupted into a cloud there.

"Rapin spin through!" May said.

Wartortle started spinning and soon flew through the steam trailing it like a comet.

"Ice beam!" May shouted.

Wartortle continued to spin as an Ice beam flew from the spinning shell in all directions. The Ice beams hit Flygon in succession. Drew's points dropped. Wartortle landed and both trainers smiled.

"I wouldn't expect any less from you, May... but I'm not going to go down easy, Dragon rush!" Drew yelled.

zzzz-In stands-zzzz

"Wow! May helped Wartortle use the same technique to fire multiple ice beams like your Squirtle could fire multiple Hydro pumps, Ash!" Max said.

"Yeah, what dya know," Ash smiled.

"Man I'm glad I lost to one of those two if I had to lose. I'm going to have to work even harder. They have definitely gotten stronger over the last few years since I've seen them," Dawn nodded, glued to the two co-ordinator's moves.

Ellie kept looking at the field and watching. She knew her trainer was for battling and she liked the idea of showing her power, but she couldn't help but think fighting with style like those two did could only help her to fight well later.

"Pika chu chu pi cha?" Ellie asked Pikachu.

"Pika chu pi PikaPi," Pikachu nodded.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" Chili asked.

"Well I could tell you, but It's a secret," Ash smiled.

"Aw come on Ash," Misty whined.

"Sorry. Secret training info," Ash grinned.

"Dang, that much of a secret, huh?" Iris asked.

"What are you up to, Ashy-Boy?" Gary asked.

"Like I said, Gary. Finding my own part of battling that's unique," Ash said with a smile.

"Fair enough," Paul nodded.

The group then turned back to the battle between their two friends.

zzzzz-The stage-zzzzz

The Dragon rush soon crashed into Wartortle and the smaller pokemon flew across the field and hit the ground.

"Wartortle!" May called out.

"Use Steel wing quickly to finish it!" Drew spoke quickly.

Flygon shot forward and went to attack Wartortle, when suddenly the smaller pokemon started to glow white and evolve.

"Blastoise!" The pokemon roared.

"Awesome!" May smiled.

"Flygon use Dragonbreath, quickly!" Drew called out.

The attack came towards Blastoise.

"Blastoise, use Rapid spin! Capture that Dragonbreath!" May said getting a lot of attention from the crowd.

Blastiose started spinning slowly and eventually gained speed as the attack hit. The Dragonbreath started to spin around Blastoise in a flaring ring of energy.

"Use Bubblebeam and attack!" May commanded.

Blastoise then started to use Bubblebeam and the bubbles circled around his shell with the Dragonbreath, giving the move a similar appearance to May's Firespin Bubble combo. He then shot forward and slammed into Flygon with the attack. The clock ran out of time as Flygon pulled himself up. That last attack had placed May in the lead.

What an amazing finish Ladies and gentlemen! Our winner of the Viridian ribbon is May Maple!

Drew and May met in the middle and shook hands,

"That was a great battle, May. I had a real good time. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a contest so much. That last move to capture my Dragonbreath was awesome, when did you come up with that?" Drew asked as Blastoise and Flygon started talking.

"Thanks and really if you want to know the truth... Right at that moment. I kinda just went with my instincts. You did and amazing job too, Drew. If Blastoise hadn't evolved then he might not have had the stamina to continue. Your Flygon's really strong," May smiled.

Once they realized they were still holding hands after talking they both blushed and then returned their pokemon. May then approached to receive her ribbon from Mr. Contesta. The Viridian emerald ribbon, as it was called, was small and a tiny square. A green jewel was in the center and the ribbons that came from it were green as well but lighter. May was surprised that an unofficial contest had given her the most beautiful ribbon, in her opinion, she had to date.

The crowd roared as she bowed with the other contestants. She, Dawn, and Drew then returned to the group.

zzzz-Together-zzzz

The group walked out of the contest hall and everyone was praising the three co-ordinators on their performances. Max was excited by May's final move, that had won her the contest, and May herself was happily talking to Drew and Dawn about how they were going to train hard together to all grow even stronger. The group walked towards the pokemon center where they would be staying until tomorrow for when they headed towards Pallet town. They were going to start early so they could get there before sunset tomorrow. The group then happened to spot Damian and Ursula with their group. To their surprise, Gary suddenly started to march over to them.

"Hey, you! Jerk!" Gary called out to Damian.

"Huh? Oh It's you losers," Damian growled.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Gary shouted.

"What? Why?" Damian asked looking over Gary unimpressed.

_Is this what Ash felt like every time I toyed with him? I'm going to have to apologize to him later..._ Gary thought.

"You know why! Besides I need to show you that being a pokemon researcher doesn't mean I can't battle!" Gary replied.

A crowd soon started to form around the two groups.

"Fine. But don't get upset when I cream you!" Damian sneered.

"I'm here to battle not to talk!" Gary said. He suddenly felt his pokeballs on his belt vibrate slightly; they were ready too. That thought made Gary smile, "Go, Scizor!"

"Scizor!" Scizor cried as it came into the area between the two trainers.

"Go, Manchamp!" Damian called out.

"Man CHAMP!" His pokemon shouted and flexed his muscles.

"What about a ref?" Damian asked.

"I'll do it. How about a three-on-three?" A boy said and walked forward slightly.

Gary and Damian nodded.

"Manchamp use, Karate chop!" Damian grinned.

"Scizor, Double team!" Gary replied.

Manchamp came forward into the crowd of Scizor, but suddenly slammed his hand onto the real Scizor's skull, seemingly able to pick the right one out with no problem.

_No Guard ability..._ Gary thought, _Max was right, knowing all the stuff I've learned from research will come in handy... _Gary smiled and then frowned as Damian called out his next command,

"Karate chop again!" Damian smirked.

Manchamp came at Scizor.

"Iron defense!" Gary shouted.

_Clang!_ Scizor still flinched somewhat at the attack but the power was reduced.

"X-Scissor!" Gary yelled.

Scizor soon obeyed and hit Manchamp hard before flying behind him.

Damian growled, "Use Fire punch, roast that bug!"

Manchamp turned around and came charging at Scizor with a flaming fist.

"Agility and then Acrobatics!" Gary said quickly.

Scizor increased it's speed and then shot forward at Manchamp and began to pummel him with multiple flying-type strikes, kicks, and punches. The fire on Manchamp's hand dissipated and he crashed to the ground with swirls in his eyes.

"Manchamp is unable to battle! Scizor wins!"

Damian looked at Gary angrily, as he recalled Manchamp, "Go, Pinsir!"

"Use, X-scissor!" Gary spoke.

"Counter with Brick break!" Damian shouted.

The two pokemon collided and then backed up.

"Use Acrobatics!" Gary called out.

"Gulliotine," Damian grinned.

Suddenly Scizor was crushed between Pinsir's mandibles and crying out in pain. Scizor was past the ability to battle but the attack persisted.

"That's enough, Scizor's unable to battle!" The ref said in shock.

"Scizor return!" Gary said. Only by returning his pokemon was the attack ended, "That's not right to continue attacking a pokemon like that once it can't battle," Gary said angrily.

"I want to win, so it's all fair game. Not that you have a chance," Damian said and flicked his hair.

Gary growled, "Go Exeggcutor!"

"Exec!" The pokemon said as it came out.

"Ha! What a poor choice, X-scissor!" Damian scoffed.

"Psychic," Gary said simply.

Pinsir was soon picked up in the air, unable to attack.

"Leaf storm!" Gary called out.

The attack blasted Pinsir farther into the air and it hit the ground with a thud and swirls in it's eyes.

"Pinsir is unable to battle!" The ref spoke.

"Drats you shouldn't be able to take down my pokemon that quick with a type disadvantage," Damian said, "No matter, go Houndoom!"

Houndoom growled as it took a battle stance.

"Type advantage isn't everything," Gary said.

"Maybe not but it can be very helpful, Flamethrower!" Damian said.

The flame scorched Exeggcutor.

"Use Barrage!" Gary said.

The attack hit Houndoom repeatedly and it started to pant.

"Gah! What's with that Exeggcutor? Never mind we'll end this now! Faint attack!"

Houndoom ran forward at blinding speeds.

"Now Crunch on and Overheat!" Damian smirked.

Houndoom leapt onto Exeggcutor and bit it and then blasted the pokemon with intense flames. Exeggcutor couldn't handle the attack and fell.

"Exeggcutor is unable to..." The ref started before Damian interrupted him.

"Flametrower!" Damian smiled.

The attack came at Exeggcutor and was about to strike.

"Exeggcutor return!" Gary said quickly.

The fire continued and was now on course to strike Gary, when

"Lucario, defend!" Ash shouted.

Lucario leapt in front of Gary and placed an aura shield. The fire whipped around the edges but soon subsided.

"Are you crazy!? How dare you battle with a fire type and not do it right!" Chili yelled out at Damian as Lucario growled and returned to his master's side. Cilan and Cress had to help somewhat hold Chili back.

Damian snorted, "Bring out your last pokemon then, I want to make this quick."

Gary clenched his fist, "Oh it will be. Go, Blastoise!"

The pokemon emerged and roared it's name and prepared it's cannons.

"It really pays to have a grandfather in the pokemon business. If you had been there the day I got my first pokemon... You'd see that I got the best one there was and met a powerful rival..." Gary said and smiled, "I maybe a pokemon researcher now, but... I will always have the heart of a trainer, Double Hydrocannon!" Gary finished, yelling.

The water shot forth from Blastoise's cannons at great speed and twisted in the air before colliding with Houndoom. The pokemon tried to dodge but was still struck by both streams. It fell to the ground, defeated.

"Houndoom is unable to battle! Blastoise is the winner and it's trainer wins the match!" The ref said.

Damian frowned as he returned his pokemon. Blastoise came beside Gary.

"Whatever... If your with him," Damian said pointing at Ash, "and his pathetic pokemon, then you're still a loser."

Gary frowned and then smiled, "Well I used to think the same a long time ago... but... people change and some times we learn things we didn't know before even if they were obvious to others. Maybe you will too someday, but as for me... I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm a researcher now and I'm proud to say it. If it wasn't for Ash and his friends then maybe I would have never found out what I was the most passionate for. I saw how passionate Ash was for battle and I realized I didn't feel quite the same. Just remember to never underestimate your opponent and... Leave my friends alone." Gary said changing his smile to a frown. He turned as he recalled his Blastoise and walked over to the rest of the group. Damian growled something under his breath and turned to walk away with Ursula and the rest of his group. Gary rejoined the group,

"That was an awesome battle, Gary," Ash said with a smile.

Gary looked up at Ash for a moment and smiled, "Thanks."

"Yeah! You had that battle from the beginning! So cool!" Max grinned.

"Why'd you do that?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I was going to do it from the beginning once the contest was over. I became even more determined after Ash, Paul, and Brock had their run in with Damian and his goons. I guess I needed a prove to myself that I could do it, that I could still battle. I knew you guys trusted I could," Gary finished.

"Well I think you more than proved it to yourself," Drew nodded.

"I agree," Paul added.

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement. Soon the group turned around and walked into the pokemon center. Gary and Ash with Misty lagged behind. Gary suddenly put a hand on Ash's shoulder,

"Hey, Ash... I need to talk to you," Gary said with a frown.

"Yeah sure, Gary," Ash said.

"Don't take too long you two. It's getting dark," Misty smiled and walked towards the rest of the group with Pikachu and Ellie as they decided sleeping arrangements. Gary and Ash walked outside and around to a small pond that was near the center.

"So what's up, Gary?" Ash asked.

"I guess I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for teasing you back when. You know... when we started our journey. Calling you a loser and all that," Gary spoke and tossed a rock into the pond.

Ash smiled, "Thanks Gary that means a lot. I forgive you. It's not that big of a deal anymore anyways."

Gary sighed. Ash was too nice for his own good... He had matured maybe even more than Gary had realized... maybe even more than Gary himself... In some ways...

"Thanks, Ash. I guess I just thought about it after hearing Damian call you a loser and when I battled him he taunted me. It made me think about what I might have said to you," Gary added.

"Hey, You're not Damian. Damian means it in nothing but malice and he doesn't seem to learn from mistakes. You didn't always mean it in malice and you've learned from your mistakes. I have too. I might not have kept going at some times if you hadn't been egging me on. So really I need to thank you," Ash nodded.

"Hmmm. If that's the case... Then let's go back to the center. Don't want to tick off your girlfriend, Ashy-Boy," Gary grinned.

"Ha ha, Hilarious," Ash snorted and smiled as he started to follow Gary back.

Gary put his hand on Ash's shoulder as they walked, "Thanks again, really Ash. You're a good guy and a great friend and rival."

"Same to you Gary, same to you," Ash said and smiled, "We'll make it. We will succeed at our dreams one day and we'll look back and smile."

"Yeah," Gary said.

Soon they re-entered the center and met back up with the group. They all separated into their rooms for the night.

zzzzzzzzz

**Gary gets to give Damien an ass-whooping! Whoo! Damien has strong pokemon but he hasn't really trained them well, after this he may actually figure out he needs to change some things up some.**

**And also Ellie enters the fray. I hope you guys will grow to like her. She's going to be Pikachu's partner eventually. You see I just never really felt like Buneary or any other pokemon seemed to work for Pikachu, In my Opinion, I repeat in my opinion. So I made Ellie. She'll have a different battling style than Pikachu in some respects and a bit different of a personaility. You'll see that later though.**

**And Damien Strikes again, but we meet some of his other not so favorable friends and surprisingly girlfriend. I'm sorry to all the Ursula fans out there but I've never really been able to like her. I know she's kinda like a female Harley in some ways, but eh I don't know, she seemed a bit worse to me. I had kinda intended for her at one time to be on the second team but dropped her, then after a while of trying to imagine what kinda team she ended up on, I thought about Damien's and then tada!**

**And of course, Omanyte claims his second victim...**

**Review, Fav, Follow, and Enjoy! :D**


	18. A Date and a Duel

**I have a question for all who are reading this story. Check the new poll on my profile, please :)**

**Arlghty, on to the good stuff:**

zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In the morning everyone ate well. Ash came in from his aura training with Pikachu, Zoroark, and Lucario. Misty and Ellie greeted them as they came in. After everyone packed up, prepared, and returned their pokemon, they left the center to begin their journey to Pallet town.

Ash released Cubone as they walked and Misty held him since Pikachu and Ellie had Ash's shoulders. As they walked down the road and neared Pallet town, they suddenly saw a building in the distance.

"Hey look, It's Xanadu nursery," Gary smiled.

Ash nodded and then turned to walk in that direction. The group joined him. They entered the garden and saw pokemon running around, happily playing; the plants wer bright and healthy and fruit hung from many of the matured trees' branches. They approached the check out area and came face to face with Delilah.

"Oh! hello everyone," Delilah spoke cheerily as always.

"Hello Ms. Ketchum!" The group said.

"Hey mom," Ash smiled and walked up.

"Oh and who's this?" Delilah asked placing a hand on Ellie's cheek and rubbing.

"This is Ellie. Ellie this is my mom," Ash replied with a bright smile.

"How wonderful, now Pikachu has a little girlfriend," Delilah said.

Pikachu suddenly fell off Ash's shoulder and Ellie's cheeks soon became bright red.

"Chaaaa..." Pikachu groaned from the ground.

Ellie jumped down to check on Pikachu and Ash started laughing.

"What's the matter buddy? Payback stinks doesn't it?" Ash winked before he was electrocuted by Pikachu.

"Cubone?" Cubone asked and walked over to his 'daddy' and poked him.

"Don't worry, Cubone. He's okay," Misty smiled.

Ash soon got up and Pikachu and Ellie returned to their spots. Cubone got back into Misty's arms and was greeted by a new fan in Delilah. Misty and the girls started talking to Delilah and most of the guys started to explore while Delilah got her order completed. After a while everyone met back up. Misty soon noticed Ash was the only one missing.

"Hmmm. I wonder where he went?" Misty asked.

Delilah looked around a little and then spoke, "I think I know where he is." She sounded a little sad but happy. The group looked at each other but soon followed. They came back behind the nursery to a little area. They started to hear someone humming. It was soft and soothing. The melody seemed familiar but yet no one could place it. They came around the corner and found Ash. He was leaning against a tree with his hat over his eyes. Pikachu and Ellie were curled up together on his lap. He was humming that melody and many of the nursery's pokemon were resting nearby, some listening to the soothing tune. Suddenly Ash said a few words of the song,

"So long as my body permits,

I will fight for what I love,

Through the storms and trials I will prevail..."

He began humming again soon afterwards. Everyone watched from a distance and Delilah seemed upset.

"Delilah what's wrong?" Iris asked.

Delilah seemed to suddenly remember that she was with people, "Oh. Oh... yes well. This is a place... is a place Ash's father used to spend time with him... I would be here getting plants and such from the nursery and they would come back here to be with the pokemon..."

Everyone soon frowned at the mention of Ash's father, some in the group could sympathize. Misty walked forward and placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Hey. We're ready to go," Misty said softly.

Ash pushed up his hat slightly and his eyes locked with Misty's. For a second, he seemed confused as if he was lost in a memory, then he smiled, "Yeah... right... that's right..." Ash got up and stretched. He noticed all the pokemon around him and they cooed a bit before walking or frolicking away.

"Huh? I wonder what they wanted?" Ash asked as his hand interlocked with Misty's. Pikachu and Ellie jumped onto his shoulders and Misty smiled at him.

"Maybe they liked your singing," Misty said.

Ash looked at her with a blush, "Oh you heard that, huh? It's something my umm... dad used to sing."

Misty smiled, "It's a beautiful song. Do you know all the lyrics?"

"Naw. I don't remember them. I don't think dad did either. He said his mother used to sing the whole thing to him though," Ash replied. He then noticed everyone standing in front of them waiting. Ash's face went bright red.

"There's no shame in a little song, Ash," Brock said finally, trying to comfort his friend.

"Yeah, no worries Ash. It was really pretty," May smiled.

The group nodded and Ash smiled before taking a look at his mother who smiled sadly at him and he returned the favor. All together they walked back to Pallet. They returned to the lab and dropped off their backpacks and such. Ash let out Kingdra, Nidoking, and Cubone for Professor Oak and his mother and to meet. The group decided to spend a couple days in Pallet before heading out towards Rota. Ash sat in the back field with Lucario, Pikachu, Ellie, Zoroark, Kingdra, Nidoking, and Cubone. He meditated for a while, trying to work on strengthening his aura and speeding up the time it took for him to summon it, and Lucario, Zoroark, and Pikachu did the same. The other pokemon rested nearby. Ash then opened his eyes and relaxed. He turned to Nidoking.

"Hey, Nidoking," Ash spoke. His pokemon lifted his head from the ground and looked into his trainer's eyes waiting for a command.

"I was wondering. We're near your home again. Are you wanting to go home, or stay with me longer?" Ash asked.

Nidoking flinched, apparently he hadn't even thought of it. After a moment he spoke,

"Nido nid king nido king."

Ash raised a hand to Lucario before he tried to translate, "No I want to see if I can understand him... I've been trying to learn all the different pokemon speech. I'll ask if I can't get it, okay?"

**As you wish, Master.**

Ash listened as Nidoking continued.

Off to the side Professor Oak was watching. He had over-heard Ash's request to Lucario.

Tracey soon approached, "Ash sure catches some unique pokemon, huh?"

"No question... You know I've never really seen someone with the connection to his pokemon like Ash has. I saw it when he was young... I thought maybe it was just the pokemon being kind since he was a child but when he became friends with Pikachu, the same Pikachu that was so unruly before, I knew I wasn't mistaken," Oak spoke.

"Yeah," Tracey smiled, "I'm going to finish cleaning up our mess from that last bit of research we conducted."

"Alright. Thank you Tracey," Oak replied.

Tracey walked away and Oak continued to watch, _I also knew long before I became a Professor... Thank you Celebi... and then again he is his son..._

Oak smiled sadly and walked back inside. Ash meanwhile was trying to see if he had understood Nidoking,

"You want to go and meet with your old friends and talk to them before you make a decision," Ash said looking at his pokemon.

"Nido," Nidoking said and nodded with a smile.

**Good job Master. You are becoming much better at understanding the natural tongue of different pokemon species. We understand each other easily but it is more difficult for humans since pokemon speak in itself is so different. Slight dialect to us sounds like separate language to you.**

"Thanks Lucario," Ash replied.

**Awesome! Well, we can visit that mountain no problem, right Master?**

"Yeah no worries and whatever you decide is okay Nidoking. I want you happy," Ash nodded. Nidoking placed a claw on Ash's shoulder and grunted with a smile.

"You're more than welcome," Ash grinned. Ash soon left the ranch to go see where all his friends had gotten of to. Pikachu and Ellie were the only ones who followed. Ash walked outside and down the street. Soon he heard laughter and saw his friends hanging out at one of the cafes that dotted the small Hamlet. Misty saw him and waved.

"Over here," Misty smiled.

Ash nodded and soon joined the group. Pikachu jumped to the table looking for ketchup.

"Sorry, buddy no ketchup at a cafe like this," Ash nodded.

"Chu," Pikachu pouted. Ellie joined him on the table and they sat next to each other as Ash and the others started talking. Ash told them Nidoking wanted to check on his family and friends and the group agreed to let Ash travel up real quick on Rapidash as soon as they headed out for Rota.

"You know what I just realized?" Dawn said suddenly.

"What's that?" Ritchie asked.

"Ash and Misty haven't really had a proper date," Dawn replied.

Ash and Misty then both looked at each other.

"Well we are kinda trying to find those tokens. I guess I didn't think about it because I thought we wouldn't have the time," Misty said.

"Well... How about tonight? We could um... do a date thing then," Ash said rubbing his head nervously. He wasn't really sure how to do these things.

"Really?" Misty asked looking at him.

"Yeah sure. It... would be my pleasure," Ash finally said, when his nervous eyes locked with her questioning ones. They seemed to evaporate all the nervousness from him.

"That would be wonderful, Ash," Misty smiled.

"Wow! Misty let us help you get ready!" May squealed.

Drew frowned after looking at May and then smiled slightly.

"Yeah! Us too!" Dawn grinned and Iris nodded.

"Sure, that would be great!" Misty smiled happily.

After another hour, Misty and the girls left to help get Misty ready.

"Crud, What have I gotten myself into. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," Ash groaned.

"Well let good old Brock-o help you and give you advice," Brock said putting an arm around Ash.

"My advice, don't take Brock's advice," Gary deadpanned.

Everyone else laughed and Brock soon sulked.

"You need to dress a little nicer," Cress spoke first.

"And compliment her a lot," Chili added.

"Be a gentleman and pay for everything you two do. Hold out her chair when she goes to sit as well," Cilan smiled.

"Geez sounds like more trouble than it's worth," Max mumbled.

"Believe me, Max. It's worth it. You'll get it one day, just like Ash did," Ritchie smiled at the youngest member of their group.

"Maybe bring her flowers," Drew nodded.

"Or a gift of some kind. Either will do," Paul nodded.

"And Ash..." Gary started.

"Yeah?" Ash looked at his friend with wide eyes. He was overwhelmed.

"Try to be yourself. Don't be nervous about this. Misty is your friend, not just your girlfriend. That helps. She loves you for you. How that works I don't get, but none the less..." Gary shrugged.

"I thought you weren't going to tease me anymore?" Ash glanced at Gary and he snorted,

"I didn't say any such thing. I apologized for ever being mean if I was. Now you know I don't mean it, so it's allowed. You're the one who reacts like it's true," Gary smirked.

"Right," Ash rolled his eyes and then smiled.

The others continued to give Ash pointers before he had to go and get ready. Soon Ash walked out of his room of his house. He wore a black short sleeve shirt with a v-neck and nice khaki pants. He kept his same shoes on and left his hat behind. The guys and Delilah were in the living room with Pikachu and Ellie. Delilah immediately hurried to meet her son when he entered the room.

"Oh my baby's getting so grown up. Look at my handsome boy," Delilah cooed and Ash glared at his friends who were trying to hold back laughter.

"Thanks mom," Ash said finally. Delilah handed Ash some flowers picked from her garden, they were a lovely assortment of flowers. Nothing less from the expert gardener Delilah was. They waited for a while for Misty and the girls. They were going through some of Delilah's old things, since Misty hadn't brought many choices and because Delilah insisted. Finally the girls walked out and started to speak,

"Introducing the Sensational sister," Dawn started.

"The mermaid of Cerulean," Iris grinned.

"Misty Waterflower!" May said happily clasping her hands as Misty walked out.

Misty wore a pretty blue sleeveless dress blouse. She had on dark navy kapris and white sneakers. She had her hair in a long ponytail.

"Hey," Misty said with a blush as she watched Ash. His face was stuck in a frozen state of awe.

"Wow..." He finally whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Misty blushed even more.

"Well. How about you actually take your girlfriend on a date rather than looking at her like Brock does other women? Geez your disease is spreading, Brock," Max said finally, huffing.

Ash snapped back to reality and blushed; he started looking at the ground. He walked forward still staring at the ground, ashamed for staring at her. He offered his arm,

"Sorry Misty, you ready to go?" Ash asked finally looking up into her eyes and handing the flowers to her.

Misty kissed him on the cheek which made his face turn even redder, "Absolutely, these are beautiful, Ash."

Soon they walked out of the house arm-in-arm after Misty handed the flowers to Delilah, so they could be put in a vase. Once the door shut everyone started talking.

"Disease huh?" Brock glared at young Max.

"What!?" Max glared back.

"It's called growing up, Max," May said with an irritated look at her brother.

"Well, Brock still is odd though," Gary smirked at one of the oldest people in their group.

"Ha, I'm laughing so hard on the inside right now," Brock said sarcastically.

"It's just so romantic..." Dawn said still staring at the door with her head in her hands.

"Yeah..." May said dreamily.

"I don't know if I ever want to go on a date though. It seems so silly getting so fancied up," Iris said pushing her two index fingers together.

"Have you ever played dress up before? You know as a child?" May asked turning to her friend.

"Well not really. Most of the time I came back with dirt on me from playing outside with the dragon pokemon. The Village of Dragons isn't exactly a place were modern beauty is flaunted. The only time I can remember seeing any of the women dress up fancy is when they would be married and wear the ceremonial garbs. That robe was always so pretty..." Iris smiled, "I can remember watching the women walk down the isle with a glow about them, wearing that robe and their hair done up."

"Wow, I had no idea the Village of Dragons had traditions like that," Cilan said.

The fact he got involved in the conversation made his two brothers grin mischievously at him, which prompted a glare from Cilan.

"Yeah. They sure do. The men usually had to go out for three days into the wilderness with their partner pokemon and travel to the lair of Kyurem and receive a Nevermeltice from him. I'm sure that doesn't happen anymore but they still return with a Nevermeltice as a symbolic notion that their love will never succumb," Iris nodded.

"How cool, no pun intended," Ritchie said.

Everyone laughed at the accidental pun. They then sort of went about doing their own thing. Brock and the Striation brothers went into the kitchen with Delilah, May, Dawn, and Iris talked about pokemon contests and such at the table, Max and Ritchie leaned against the wall and talked about battling tactics, and finally Gary, Drew, and Paul went to sit on the couch and watch TV. Paul plopped down first and then Drew and Gary joined him, squashing him between them. Paul gave them a glare and they started grinning. Drew and Gary then squished Paul more until Paul grabbed both of their heads and pushed down hard, causing their necks to strain. Drew then grabbed Paul and noogied him while Gary tried to wrestle the remote out of Paul's hand. Suddenly the three boys stopped in their funny positions when they realized May, Dawn, Iris, Max, and Ritchie were staring at them.

"Please continue," Max grinned, "It's quite entertaining."

"You three look like the three stooges," Dawn smirked.

Drew and Paul both blushed, Paul hiding it much better than Drew. Gary on the other hand just grinned, "Well if I'm a stooge then these two are equivalent to piles of dirt," Soon Gary got whacked in the head with the remote by Paul who was smiling with childish triumph.

"Then you're now lower than dirt," Drew said cheekily at the downed Gary.

Everyone started to laugh, even Gary.

"Touche bud, Touche. I concede defeat for now," Gary smiled and lifted himself up.

Soon peace returned and the three boys watched TV in silence while the previous conversations between the others continued.

zzzzz-Ash and Misty-zzzzz

The pair walked down the road, Misty's arm locked with Ash's.

"Sorry, I'm not sure what to go do other than eat and go to the park or something... There's not too much to do, date wise, in Pallet," Ash smiled.

"That's fine. We can go eat and then figure out what to do after that," Misty smiled back.

"You really do look great Mist," Ash said suddenly as they kept walking.

"Thanks Ash that means a lot," Misty smiled.

Finally they made it to one of the few restaurants in Pallet.

"Table for two please," Ash said to the man at the front.

"Aw I see, how wonderful. This way I will see you to your seats," The man said.

"Thank you," Ash and Misty said at the same time.

They walked in and were taken to a table at the back of the restaurant. Ash pulled out Misty's chair and she smiled and sat before he joined her.

"I'll return after a moment to get your drink orders," Their waiter bowed and left.

The two sat for a moment looking over the menus. After they decided what they wanted to eat, they started to talk. Tentatively Ash reached his hand over to Misty's and they held them over the table.

"This is really nice," Misty said looking around.

"Yeah. I can't remember the last time I ate in a restaurant like this," Ash nodded.

"Well... yeah that's true, but I wasn't talking just about that," Misty said with a smile.

"Oh?" Ash said and looked at her with questioning eyes.

"I mean you offering to take me on a date. I guess I just never really thought I'd see myself here like this," Misty said.

"What do you mean? You're beautiful, Mist. All those guys that wanted to date you and such. You could've had a date ten-thousand times more impressive than this," Ash said a little confused.

"Maybe... but I really meant that I never thought I'd see myself like this and be happy... being with the one I'm most happy with. Because of that... I can enjoy it... I can relax," Misty said looking at Ash and smiling.

"Mist..." Ash said, gripping her hand tighter.

"I just can't imagine what I would've done or who I would be if I hadn't met you, Ash. Traveling with you like I did... and now... It just makes me happy. Even with all the craziness that follows you. It's worth it," Misty nodded.

"Thanks... I still don't get why me, but I guess some questions are better left not understood," Ash grinned.

"Yeah maybe so," Misty smiled back.

Soon the waiter came back and they ordered their food and drinks. They ate and drank and joked. A few times from telling stories, they almost had to be asked to leave.

"And remember when you caught a donut in the pokeball?" Misty snorted a bit when she started to laugh and then clasped her hands on her face, embarrassed. She soon stopped though when she realized Ash was laughing too hard to care.

"Yeah yeah! I can remember the disbelief I felt. Man that was nuts," Ash grinned and wiped a tear from his eye.

Their food had been finished long ago and Ash had paid for dinner. They were now just waiting on the change.

"You know... You really helped me become a better trainer Mist and even a better person," Ash said holding her hand again.

"You bet I did," Misty said and winked.

"Thanks, for being there," Ash smiled.

Misty looked at him and smiled happily and spoke, "Your more than welcome. Brock said it all, I wouldn't trade it for the world. You did the same for us, Ash. For all of us. We wouldn't ever even be friends with each other if it weren't for you."

Ash looked at her for a moment putting the dots together, "Huh, I never really thought of that."

"That's not a first," Misty said playfully.

"Very funny," Ash smirked.

"But you know... Any other Pallet kid might have been logically, not morally speaking, a good choice in exchange for the world... anyone but you though... You mean too much to everyone you meet and you don't even realize it... Just promise me that you'll try your hardest not to leave us... Too soon." Misty said and finished a little sadly, "There is still so many adventures we could have... and everyone else too... It wouldn't be the same without you... I felt that way while you were gone last year... Not many people heard from you... Even when you where with Iris and Cilan or Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena and not Brock anymore I still heard about what you were up to... It was fun to listen to all the things you were doing, and I'm sure everyone else feels the same."

Ash stared at her for a moment before smiling, "Okay I understand. I kept my first big promise with you and so I think I can handle this one too."

"What was the first promise?" Misty asked.

"I swore to see you again... After Johto," Ash answered simply.

Misty smiled brightly, "Yeah I guess you did..."

"I'll do whatever it takes Mist... Just promise me one thing, too," Ash said.

"What?" Misty asked.

"Promise me to never stop smiling..." Ash said, "That counts for everyone too, but you most of all."

"Okay... I promise," Misty smiled.

"That's perfect just like that," Ash grinned and Misty giggled.

Soon Ash got his change, left a tip, and they left. They walked for a while and noticed the park was full.

"I guess everyone had the same idea we did," Ash said.

"Yeah, kinda not really private anymore huh?" Misty asked.

"Hmmm. So what do you want to do?" Ash asked.

"Nope. We're going to do something you can think of. You know this place really well so you tell me what we're going to do," Misty smiled.

Ash looked off in thought for a moment then smiled, "I know just the place."

Soon the couple found themselves on the coast. The part of Pallet that faced the sea. They sat together on the bench that faced the ocean, listening to the waves.

"Perfect..." Misty sighed.

"Yeah... I thought you would like it here with the water and all. Plus I come here a lot after a tournament to revive myself. The waves at night are peaceful," Ash replied.

Misty then kissed him and he reciprocated. Soon they had to breathe. They then held each other and smiled.

"Thanks... This was a wonderful date, Ash," Misty smiled, leaning now against his chest.

"I'm glad I didn't mess it up. To be honest after you left the cafe to get ready this afternoon, I thought I had messed up offering to take you and all. I've never really done this before. No one's ever asked me," Ash said.

Misty looked up at him trying to understand what he had just said, _No one... I mean I know I'm a Sensational sister and haven't really had that problem myself, but... No one?_

"The first time anyone has ever actually shown interest is you and I think Macy that one time but I wasn't exactly sure, and well that one weird girl on the boat to Fushia," Ash nodded, "I guess she saw you with me and thought I was rich or something, being with someone like you and battling with Tyranitar."

Misty blushed from the compliment and shook her head, "Well that's not entirely the case, Ash."

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"Before maybe you were kinda average, which most people are. But... now..." Misty started and began to blush heavily.

"But now, what?" Ash asked.

"Well... You started training with your pokemon, right?" Misty said, "And training your aura and now you've started training yourself by sparring with Lucario, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Ash asked.

"Well it starts to show after a while... You're 18 almost 19 now... That's when boys start growing the most in their... um muscles and such..." Misty was now almost beat red.

"Oh..." Ash said starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"But see that's the great part about us... We cared about each other before... You said yourself that you liked me when I was a scrawny tomboy... I've grown in places..." Misty started and Ash was now the one turning red, "and I cared about you before you even understood what love was... and now you've grown... My point is that girl noticed and maybe now you'll notice more girls noticing," Misty said with a frown.

"Naw I won't," Ash said simply.

Misty turned to look at him and saw he was staring over the sea. "Because I... I only have eyes for you Mist," Ash said, never looking away from the horizon. The blue of the water reflected off his pupils or was that his aura? Misty didn't think about it... because

Misty froze in place. She couldn't believe what words had just left his mouth. _Did Ash really just say that? Am I dreaming?_

"Mist?" Ash said, now finally looking back at her.

Mist snapped back to reality and smiled, "That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, Ash. You're a great friend and an even greater boyfriend." Misty then kissed him on the cheek. This kiss though was different... It wasn't partly fueled by instinctual desire or any of that nonsense... This kiss was one of love... love that was love for the person not anything else. True love... Ash felt it too through his aura and it made his whole body relax. He pulled her close and she rested her head against his head. After a little while he could feel her breathing peacefully in sleep. Ash got up carefully, He pulled her up into his arms and started to walk back home, careful to avoid people since he probably looked suspicious with her sleeping in his arms. He knew by now the others had gone to the lab to sleep, so he decided they would sleep at his mom's. He walked until he reached the door. He let himself into the dark house and almost stepped on Brock sleeping on the ground. Ash smiled, _I guess everyone stayed here and feel asleep._ Ash used his aura to sense where everyone was and stepped carefully over everyone in the living room. He walked upstairs and to the guest room. Inside the three girls were sleeping. He saw a spare bunk and placed Misty carefully on it and covered her up. He smiled at her and whispered in her ear,

"Just keep smiling..."

Misty suddenly smiled in her sleep and Ash walked out of the room. He found a place in his room dodging a sleeping Gary, Drew, and Max. He changed and slipped into a spare sleeping bag in his closet. Pikachu soon noticed him lay down and scooted away from Ellie on the bed and hit the floor softly. Ash smiled in the dark at his first aura partner, as PIkachu used aura to guide him to Ash. Pikachu curled up next to his chest. He started pondering in his head about Misty and his relationship and how different she felt to him compared to others. Many of the girls he had traveled with were pretty, nice, kind... but it was as if he simply couldn't see them that way. Even if at times it seemed more logical to go with them... Maybe... maybe that's the feeling Misty felt when Rudy... then at that moment he remembered, _You're a lucky guy, Ash. What do you mean Rudy? Maybe someday you'll find out..._

Ash smiled as sleep started to overcome him. He was indeed a lucky guy.

zzzz-Together the next morning-zzzz

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream echoed throughout the small house and everyone woke with a jolt. Gary and Drew rose and smacked into each other. Max fell off Ash's bed with a thump. Brock flew out of his sleeping bag wearing only his boxers and rushed to the sound of the scream. Paul scrambled up wearing his boxers and a t-shirt and ran up the stairs with Brock, soon followed by Ritchie, Cilan, Cress, and Chili. The girls popped out from the guest room and followed the boys into Ash's room with Delilah soon trailing behind. When they opened the door they saw,

Gary laughing so hard on the ground he was crying and looked like he couldn't breathe. He was rolling back and forth and trying to stop but couldn't. Max had started laughing and Pikachu and Ellie were trying to calm everyone. Drew was pulling on Omanyte who was plastered to Ash's face.

"MMMMMFFPH! MMAPFPH MMPH!" Ash kept saying something every time Drew yanked on the small shellfish.

"Oh my, Omanyte you got out of your pokeball again," Cress said with a frown.

Cress walked back down stairs to get the pokeball. Everyone else kept watching. Suddenly Drew gave one last mighty pull and Omayte released Ash, unfortunately the release caused Ash to fly backwards. He smacked into the wall and hit his head before crumpling to the floor.

"Ash!" Misty said worriedly.

Everyone approached and Ash then moved his hand to his head and started rubbing, "Ouch..."

Misty sighed now knowing he was okay. She then noticed Gary still laughing, "I'd stop laughing if I was you, Oak."

Gary suddenly stopped laughing and smiled nervously. May flicked Max in the nose and soon he stopped as well.

"Sorry about that, Ash. I guess I was pulling too hard," Drew smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Naw. You were just trying to help, unlike some people," Ash said, glaring at Gary and Max who smiled nervously.

Soon everyone calmed down and got dressed and Cress returned Omanyte. Ash went to train outside and as soon as he left May, Dawn, and Iris pounced on Misty about last night,

"So... How was it?" Dawn grinned.

The guys and Delilah soon joined the conversation too out of curiosity.

"It was great," Misty smiled, "We really enjoyed ourselves."

"Oh did you?" Gary said and wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.

Misty's mallet soon met his face. Gary mumbled in pain on the ground.

"Oh now what did I say to you and Ash about waiting until after marriage, Misty?" Delilah said worriedly.

Misty's face went beat red and everyone else stared.

"We didn't do anything like that!" Misty yelped, "We had dinner and went to the ocean to listen to the waves since the park was crowded."

"Why would it matter if it was crowded hmmmm?" Gary asked leaning once more on the table after recovering some from Misty's attack. Soon he was on the floor again after another powerful mallet smack.

"Then what?" May asked

Misty stared for a moment, "We just talked..." Misty smiled and blushed a bit, "It was really peaceful and sweet."

"When did you get back? I went to sleep before you guys returned," Iris said.

Misty's face got really red, "Actually I don't remember anything after the ocean... I guess I feel asleep... or something."

"Or something?" Gary asked peaking over the table. He soon found himself on the ground for a third time from Misty's mallet.

"Hmmmm. I guess Ash carried you home," Brock said finally.

Misty looked like she was thinking and then she smiled, "Yeah... I guess he did. I'll need to thank him for that."

The group started talking more about what they were going to do that day when Ash came back in and ran upstairs to shower and change into his normal travel clothes. He came back down and joined the group to eat pancakes and talk about their plans. Some of the others ended up taking their showers as well. Misty thanked Ash for bringing her home. The group all decided to kinda walk around and do whatever came to mind, maybe shop some for stuff they may need or train with their pokemon at some point. Everyone liked the idea and soon finished and went out the door after thanking Delilah for letting them sleep there and feeding them. Delilah said she'd be there to see them off tomorrow. The group walked down the path and decided to shop some.

"Do you think we'll need ice heals?" Misty asked.

"If we travel through the ice path, definitely," Brock said as he picked up some antidotes and paralyze heals.

Max looked over and down the isle, since he was on the same isle with Misty, Brock, and Ash, and saw Ash looking over some pokeballs. Dusk, Quick, Luxury balls, and more were placed on the shelf and Ash seemed in deep thought.

"Trying to decide what pokeballs you wanna buy?" Max asked.

Ash looked at his friend and smiled, "Yeah I'm trying to figure out which ones I may need the most in Johto. I think Kurt is maybe still in business so I want to stop by there and maybe see if I could get some of his pokeballs, but I still wanna be prepared if he isn't."

Ash looked back at the shelf and picked up a Luxury, Net, and Timer ball and put them in his basket he carried.

"Cool what's that?" Max asked, reaching into the back of the store shelf and grabbing an odd looking pokeball. It was red all over with some black accents

"Huh..." Ash said now holding the ball, "I've never seen one like this before."

"Can I help you sir?" A market patron asked

"Yeah, Can you tell me what kind of pokeball this is?" Ash asked.

"Hmmm... I'll take it to the counter and see if I can find out. I'll tell you what I know when you come to check out," The patron smiled and Ash nodded.

On a nearby isle, Drew, May, Dawn, Paul and Gary were browsing.

"Oh look at these seals, May!" Dawn said cheerfully holding out a couple that had petals on them, "Bellossom would look great with some of these. I haven't gotten the chance to decorate her ball."

"Yeah and these purple confetti pieces will look great with Nidoqueen," May smiled.

Drew browsed over a few and selected a couple electric type seals, "I need to catch an electric type."

"Yeah I noticed you didn't have one on your team," Gary said, looking over after picking up a notebook and pen.

"What are those for?" Paul asked as he held a few potions.

"Oh just for taking notes or something. I ran out of paper on my other one. You never know with Ash if you need to write down and translate an ancient prophecy or something," Gary smirked and the others laughed in good sport.

On the isle next to them Iris, Cilan, Cress, Chili, and Ritchie were picking up foods and other similar supplies. Emolga rested on Iris's shoulder and kept pointing at more food that they couldn't carry or afford.

"Sorry Emolga but no," Iris smiled.

"Emol emol," Emolga mumbled and looked over and saw Pikachu and Ellie walking past the isle talking and Ellie laughed. Emolga floated down off Iris's shoulder and landed near them and looked around the corner to watch,

ZZZ=Pokemon translator activate=ZZZ

"Is that true?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, I can't believe it myself... I knew Ash was different but I guess I'm just as worried about the whole thing as he is," Pikachu responded.

"Worried about what?"

Pikachu and Ellie turned around to see Emolga walk behind them.

"Oh yeah I guess not everyone has heard..." Pikachu said and then told Emolga the story of them traveling through the Unknown Dungeon and the weird writing on the wall.

"Wow... I never imagined that joining Iris would get me wrapped up in something like this," Emolga said.

"Well I think eventually every pokemon with a trainer or not will become involved with this... Just a feeling I guess," Pikachu said.

"Your aura or something telling you?" Ellie asked.

"Aura?" Emolga asked.

"No... I think it's instinct or something... Aura is the stuff Ash can use... I learned to use it too kinda. I'm Ash's first partner in Aura second to Lucario and Zoroark was the third," Pikachu replied tapping his chest proudly.

"That's neat," Ellie smiled.

"Hey... I never got to ask, what's your story?" Pikachu asked, "I already told you I was a loner and got caught by Professor Oak and then Ash received me. What about you? We kinda found you alone in the woods. Where were your friends or pack?" Pikachu asked.

"Hmmm... Well... I was a pet actually... I left my pack when a girl took me in... She ended up leaving one day and not coming back to the house. After a while, I tried to return to the forest and my pack rejected me for leaving them. I wandered for a while until I ran into those Beedrill and you know the rest," Ellie said.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry now though, Ash won't ever leave you behind. There have been times where I thought for sure he would give up on me but he always pulled through and never gave up. Team Rocket, you know those guys I was telling you about... They used to try to capture me all the time. Ash would almost die trying to save me... You're safe with us forever if you want and Ash will let you leave if you don't want to stay," Pikachu smiled.

"Wow... That's really nice of him. I think I like it with all of you guys though... I don't think I'll leave," Elllie said and blushed a bit.

"No other reason is, there?" Emolga said and grinned at Ellie who blushed and Pikachu just tilled his head.

"Like what?" Pikachu asked.

"No reason!" Ellie said, before placing a paw over Emolga's mouth.

Emolga broke free though and spoke, "You're going to have to let Bunaery down nicely though... She won't take it easy," Emolga said.

Pikachu shivered, "Oh wait, geez..." Pikachu blushed.

"Who's Bunaery?" Ellie asked.

"She's this really clingy pokemon of Dawn's. She's in love with Pikachu but Pikachu doesn't feel the same way," Emolga said, scratching behind her head.

"Yeah, I mean she's a great friend, but I'm just not interested the way she is," Pikachu said scratching his cheek, nervously.

"Oh... I see..." Ellie said.

"But why do I need to let her down?" Pikachu asked tilting his head, confused.

Emolga slapped her face and Ellie blushed and frowned and looked away,

"No reason..." Ellie said.

Emolga looked at her and frowned.

"Oh okay... It's just that Emolga said..." Pikachu began.

"Ellie likes you, dummy. Geez I was hoping you weren't that much like your trainer, Pikachu," Emolga snorted.

Ellie blushed ferociously.

"Wait... You you like me?" Pikachu asked, blushing.

"Well... yeah... I guess... I've been trying to decide since we only met not too long ago..." Ellie smiled.

Pikachu smiled, "I get it now, well I'll wait. I'm patient. Take your time to decide. I'll need some time too to think about it myself. We'll have this whole tournament to think about it," Pikachu smiled and turned towards the direction of Ash and the others as they approached the counter. He started walking forward and then looked over his shoulder, "And Ellie? You can tell me anything... Don't worry about keeping secrets... You can trust me or Ash or anyone here. Thanks to you too Emolga," Pikachu smiled and then ran towards Ash and leapt on his shoulder.

"Well someone's got to be the blunt no nonsense person in the group," Emolga smiled.

"You're really something, Emolga. It's nice to meet you and thanks for the little shove even if I wanted to choke you at first," Ellie smiled.

"No problem. But be careful with Bunaery... She's a sweet girl but she'll be sad and maybe angry if you two do become more than friends... She's a bit young for Pikachu anyways... I think it's just a bit of a girl's fantasy for her and not true love though. Pikachu saved her once and she has 'loved' him ever since... I think she'll realize eventually that Pikachu isn't her true love and she'll move on and find the perfect match," Emolga said.

"Yeah I like to think everything will turn out fine," Ellie smiled, "What about you, do you have someone special?"

"Not yet... Pachirisu is more of a little brother to me... I'll find someone though. Someone who can handle me and my large personality and stunning good looks," Emolga said and winked.

"I'm sure you will," Ellie smiled.

Both pokemon soon returned to their perches on their trainers' shoulders.

ZZZ=Pokemon translator de-activate=ZZZ

"Well... I think this is a Cherish ball," The manager said to Ash.

"A Cherish ball huh? What's it for?" Ash asked.

"Well... typically they are given away at events... I guess one was left behind or hidden by a customer when the promotion was going on. You can buy it for 400poke if you want it. People tend to capture very important pokemon in them. I think the ball increases friendship and some say the power of the pokemon caught," The manager said, "Well you know at least that's what people say, not necessarily what's true."

"Sure I'll buy it, looks cool," Ash smiled and handed the money over to pay for his pokeballs. Everyone payed for their separate items then shared the cost for the food they bought.

Everyone left the market, Iris returned Emolga, and once again they found themselves walking down the street. Suddenly someone approached,

"Hey, Ritchie!"

The group turned and Ritchie soon recognized the person heading towards them,

"Mikkel?" Ricthie said.

"That's right!" Mikkel said and saluted. He was not much different from Ritchie except he had blond and more wavy hair than Ritchie's. His eyes were brown. He wore a short-sleeved white t-shirt and a black vest. His jeans were light blue and tattered.

"How've you been?" Ritchie asked as they shook hands.

"I've been good! I heard from your mother that you entered that big-shot Master Challenge and now I see that she was right. This must be your group. Sup dudes and ladies," Mikkel said.

Everyone introduced themselves and he joined them as they walked.

"So why didn't you join the challenge, Mikkel?" Ritchie asked.

"I didn't feel I was ready yet. I've entered in a few tournaments but haven't gotten very far, one to four rounds at most. I've decided to train some before I try for another tournament," Mikkel nodded.

"That's always a good idea. Knowing your limits is a good thing," Brock said.

"Yeah I see though that you've been doing good. You're even traveling with some pretty cool peeps I see, Ritchie. Pewter city's former gym leader, Cerulean's leader, even I think Striation's three if I'm right, Professor Oak's Grandson, Gary, right, Some Co-ordinators that look familiar, and some other strong trainers I've seen competing in tournaments. Not bad not bad at all," Mikkel said.

"Yeah. They're pretty awesome friends too, not just my team," Ritchie smiled and the group did the same.

"That's awesome," MIkkel said before his face turned serious, "But... I can't help but wonder..."

"Wonder what, Mikkel?" Ritchie asked.

"Can you keep up with them?" Mikkel said looking at Ritchie who froze and Misty soon spoke,

"Of course! I've seen Ritchie battle before! What kinda long lost friend are you?" Misty asked, getting angry while Ash tried to calm her down.

"Well? I mean I know Max here is the youngest but he's a gym leader's son... What do you provide for them?" Mikkel asked.

"I... I..." Ritchie started when suddenly a pokemon released itself from his waist.

"Pika! Pikachu pi!" Sparky spoke as Pikachu and Ellie climbed down to stand by their friend.

"Sparky says that Ritchie is very a strong and determined trainer," Ash said looking down.

"Wha?" Mikkel asked, looking at Ash, "How do you know?"

"Ash has a strong bond with his Pikachu and so he's learned to really understand what Pikachus can say," Misty said with a smile.

"Right," Ash nodded.

"Hmmm..." Ritchie said looking down at Sparky.

"Well at least your pokemon agree... How about this, how about we battle?" Mikkel asked.

Ritchie looked up at Mikkel and then down at Sparky. The little electric type was looking back up at him with determination.

"Okay..." Ritchie finally spoke, "Mikkel, my old friend... I challenge you to a battle!"

Everyone then moved to behind the lab to house the battle. Professor Oak and Tracey as well as Delilah watched with the group. Cress offered to referee.

"This will be a three-on-three battle between Ritchie Jayne and Mikkel Fromeir! Trainers are you ready?" Cress began.

They both nodded and Sparky, who was standing next to Ritchie, allowed some sparks to dance off his cheeks.

"Begin!" Cress shouted.

"Go, Romeo!" Ritchie shouted as his Tangela came out.

"Go, Houdini!" Mikkel replied as he released a Kadabra.

"Use Bind!" Ritchie started.

"Use Psychic!" Mikkel grinned.

Soon Tangela was floating above the ground, unable to move.

"Oh no! Tangela is immobilized by Psychic!" Tracey said.

"Yeah that can't be good," Chili mumbled.

"Ritchie needs to think of something quick," Drew nodded.

"Yeah," Paul agreed.

Soon Ritchie spoke again,

"Use Knock off!"

Dark energy flew out from Romeo and hit Houdini. The pokemon stumbled and its psychic hold on Romeo faltered.

"Now Stun spore!" Ritchie yelled.

Romeo started to form the powder when suddenly the flakes of powder grew in size and turned into rocks. The rocks then shot forward and smacked into Houdini as Romeo started to glow.

"Wow! Romeo's evolving! He just used Ancient power!" Max yelled.

Ash smiled as the light in his eyes faded, Misty held his hand and smiled at him.

"Tangrowth!" Romeo shouted once the transformation was complete.

"Awesome, Romeo, congratulations," Ritchie said and Sparky agreed.

"Houdini, use Recover!" Mikkel shouted.

"Oh no, Romeo use Bind and then Mega drain!" Ritchie replied.

The attacks were executed and both Romeo and Houdini started a battle of energy exchange between Mega drain and Recover. Everyone sat in silence until finally, Houdini let out a sigh and fainted.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, Tangrowth is the winner!" Cress declared, using the pokemon's species rather than nickname, for clarity.

"Okay not bad, Jayne-y," Mikkel smirked, "Go, Trouble!"

"Clefable!" Trouble smirked as in stood ready.

"Romeo, use..." Ritchie said.

"Fire blast!" Mikkel yelled.

The attack hit and Romeo stumbled and fell to a knee.

"Romeo!" Ritchie shouted and grit his teeth.

"Sing!" Mikkel spoke and Romeo was soon asleep from Trouble's song.

"Double-slap!" Mikkel said and Romeo fell.

"Tangrowth is unable to battle, Clefable wins!" Cress shouted.

"Okay, Sparky let's go!" Ritchie nodded.

"Pika!" Sparky shouted and ran to the field.

"PIKA CHU CHU PIKA!" Pikachu shouted from the side lines.

"CHU PIKACHU PI!" Ellie joined in the cheer, soon after.

Sparky nodded to them and electricity soon danced across his cheeks.

"Sparky use Thunderbolt!" Ritchie commanded.

Sparky let loose the attack and it struck Trouble, who grunted.

"It's gonna take more than that to avoid Trouble!" Mikkel grinned, "Trouble use Sing then Metronome!"

Sparky soon drifted to sleep as an Earthquake struck flinging the pokemon into the air and then back to the ground.

"Sparky!" Ritchie cries out, _Lucky son of a gun..._ Ritchie muttered in his head, _Mikkel's always one for gimmicks..._

"See? You don't belong in this challenge just like I don't," Mikkel frowned.

Back in the stands, Cilan frowned and exchanged a glance with Brock, "I think I know why Mikkel wanted to battle..."

"Yeah..." Brock said and nodded.

"What do you mean, guys?" May asked.

"Mikkel is feeling upset that Ritchie has become a 'better' trainer than him and wants to prove to himself that Ritchie is still the same trainer he used to know and that he hasn't fallen behind. He's not really specifically trying to make Ritchie feel bad," Brock answered.

"Ahh... I see. That can be understandable," Oak nodded.

"Yeah," Gary agreed as the battle continued.

"Sparky... Sparky I know you can get up," Ritchie said.

Sparky slowly rose from the ground, panting, and started to charge more electricity.

"Sparky let's end this, use Thunder!" Ritchie shouted but instead of staying still, Sparky started to run forward into a Volt tackle.

"Pika pika pika pika PIKA CHUUUU!" Sparky shouted before colliding with Trouble.

The smoke cleared and both pokemon are panting.

"Sing," Mikkel said with a frown and Sparky fell asleep.

"Dream eater, Trouble," Mikkel spoke again.

Sparky then fell.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Clefable is the winner!" Cress declared.

"Take a good rest Sparky, you deserve it. I'm so proud of you for learning Volt tackle like that," Ritchie said before clipping Sparky's pokeball onto his belt, "Alright then, Go Zippo!"

Zippo roared loudly and spit out some fire.

"Down to your Charizard, huh? Okay Trouble use Metronome!" Mikkel spoke.

Trouble then unleashed a Dragon dance.

"Okay Double-slap!" Mikkel shouted.

"Dodge, Zippo!" Ritchie replied.

Zippo flew upward and away from Trouble's reach.

"Use Sing!" Mikkel shouted.

"Oh no you don't! Zippo fly higher, quick!" Ritchie shouted, "And then use Focus blast!"

"Wait, what!?" Mikkel shouted, shocked.

Zippo flew higher and avoided the song of Trouble before charging up the beam in his mouth and firing the fighting type move at Trouble. Trouble soon fainted.

"Clefable is unable to battle, Charizard is the winner!" Cress yelled out.

"Fine, Go Zargo!" Mikkel cried out as his Venusaur was released.

"Saur!" Zargo bellowed.

"Zippo! Use Flame burst!" Ritchie shouted.

"Sunny day then Synthesis!" Mikkel replied.

The two pokemon obey and after Zippo's Flame burst hit Zargo, Zargo healed himself with Synthesis.

"I always like having a way to heal my pokemon, be it Recover, Dream Eater, or Synthesis," Mikkel smirked.

"But why did you use Sunny day? I mean I know it makes Synthesis more powerful, but now Zippo's fire is even stronger," Ritchie spoke.

"Huh? Dang... forgot about that. Nevermind! I'll beat you before it matters! What can you really do anyway? I'll just heal!" Mikkel smiled.

"I can do this! Zippo use Fire spin!" Ritchie shouted to his pokemon as it flew about.

Fire engulfed Zargo and then disappeared.

"Use Solarbeam, Zargo!" Mikkel responded.

The beam flashed through the sky.

"Dodge it and use Flare blitz!" Ritchie commanded.

Zippo spun around the beam and thundered towards Zargo.

"Use Synthesis!" Mikkel shouted a tad too late.

Zippo crashed into Zargo and then flew away after the attack was done.

"Zargo, Synthesis now!" Mikkel shouted, a little worried.

Zargo tried but Fire spin assaulted him before he could.

"Flame burst!" Ritchie yelled.

The attack slammed into Zargo and after a moment he slumped to the ground.

"Venusaur is unable to battle, Charizard is the winner and Ritchie wins the match!" Cress shouted.

Ritchie thanked Zippo and returned him. Mikkel did the same and approached Ritchie. The group, Tracey, Professor Oak, and Delilah came closer as well.

"Well... I guess you aren't the trainer you used to be, Ritchie..." Mikkel smiled sadly.

"What do you mean, Mikkel?" Ritchie asked.

"You've become better than me... We may have gotten our starters at the same time... but you got ahead somewhere along the way," Mikkel nodded.

"Mikkel... You're a really good trainer," Ritchie smiled.

"Hey, You just need to find what about battling is yours," Ash said suddenly.

"Or maybe you are more interested in becoming something else?" Gary said, "Like a researcher."

"Or a doctor," Brock added.

"Or a co-ordinator," May spoke and Drew and Dawn smiled.

"Or a type specialist," Iris said giddily and Misty nodded.

"Or a connoisseur," Cilan bowed.

"You just need to think about it and not give up on your dream. I know I want to be a pokemon champion one day or at least the strongest I can get with my pokemon and friends by my side," Ritchie smiled, "I know you can do it Mikkel, don't give up."

Mikkel finally smiled, "Alright... I won't give up. You really are a strong trainer, Ritchie. You fit in just fine with these guys. You better do good in the Master challenge, you got it, Jayne-y?" Mikkel smirked.

"Yeah yeah, stop calling me that," Ritchie grinned at his friend.

Mikkel said good-bye to the group and walked down the road towards the pokemon center.

"It was good seeing Mikkel again," Ritchie smiled.

"Yeah it was cool meeting him," Ash nodded.

"He nick-named his pokemon like you," Misty spoke.

"Yeah it started when we got our first pokemon together. I guess he kept doing it too like me," Ritchie nodded.

Everyone then noticed that the sun was setting. They all headed inside the lab. Soon everyone got ready for bed. Ritchie let Professor Oak heal his pokemon and then everyone fell asleep.

**zzzzzz**

**So this is the first time you get to hear the pokemon talk. This won't happen ****_too_**** often but it'll have it's place from time to time. A little bit of Ellie's story in there as well. She's shy but not too shy and actually a bit impulsive at times. Buneary I view as a little young for Pikachu kinda like a young girl's fantasy. I don't dislike Buneary. There maybe a little angst when she finally figures/finds it out though...**

**Then there was the Date, I hope I did that well. Kinda another step in their relationship making it a bit more ****_official_**** I suppose.**

**The song Ash mumbles won't appear often but it does have significance, especially later. The others also have their pasts and such so don't worry Ash isn't the only one that will open up. People like Drew, Paul, and Iris have their tales. Those though will most likely be published as one-shots like my others. I will however indicate when I'll publish them in the chapter it becomes relevant in.**

**I hope Mikkel was an interesting character. You never see anyone else from the town Ritchie's from. So I thought he just had to have some friend from years past wondering around. Also gave Ritchie a chance to prove himself. It can be easy to forget about the guy since he's not a 'main' character in the actual anime.**

**Omanyte strikes again... How long will it be before he claims his next victim?**

** I just wanted to add that during the segment where Max calls Brock's problem with girls a disease, I had Brock roll his eyes instead of speak sarcastically. It was at that moment of reading through it again before publishing that I realize... I don't think Brock can roll his eyes :P**

**The next chapter they'll be heading and arriving at Rota and some interesting things will happen here and there. :)**

**Answer and few questions/reviews:**

**Fan: Altomare will happen although it actually takes place in Johto so it won't be too long now.**

**Guest: I'm sorry if this chapter also seemed a bit filler-ish but I do these chapters mostly to introduce people/doubts-to build their personality or for fun/humor. Also it lets you value the exciting moments more when they come. I try my hardest to make sure I don't write anything without it having a purpose. I'm glad however that that seemed to be the case with you saying you still enjoyed the chapter. I will try to post the next chapter very soon so it won't be too bad :)**


	19. Rota

**WARNING: The next chapter is the Last chapter in the Intro and Kanto Arc! Anyone who has been following this story You will need to find the next Arc (A separate story) If I am unable to use a link or something to get you there automatically (I honestly have no idea if that kinda thing will work) maybe I'll post the link at the bottom and then you copy it into your address bar? IDK. Any who I just wanted to warn ya :)**

**We're getting close to the end of the Kanto Arc! Hooray!**

**NOTE: Also anyone who has an OC who would be traveling in Hoenn or native to that region... If you wanna appear in the story, briefly as a cameo or something, check my profile for more info on that. I need the Hoenn one especially since Hoenn is now in it's planning stages. Also t those that have offered their cameos so far, I will tell you the chapter before you are introduced or hinted at. I will give everyone a chance to have the same amount of coverage. So if you get the chance to be hinted at and someone else actually meets up with the group, you will get the reverse at some other point.**

**I have a question for all who are reading this story. Check the new poll on my profile, please :)**

**Arlghty, on to the good stuff:**

zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The next morning everyone got up early and ate a quick breakfast. Ash returned Lucario, Zoroark, Cubone, Kingdra, and Nidoking. Soon the group was saying goodbye to Professor Oak, Tracey, and Delilah. They then headed in the direction of Mt. Hideaway to let Nidoking make his decision and see his family and friends again. At the base of the towering mountain, Ash released Rapidash and left Pikachu and Ellie with the group.

zzz-The rest of the group-zzz

"And there he goes," Misty said as she watched Ash and Rapidash gallop away.

"Rapidash sure is fast," May nodded.

"Yeah I have to agree with that. His Rapidash is very fast," Paul spoke.

Pikachu, Ellie, Sparky, Emolga, Piplup, and Cubone sat near talking as well.

zzzzz-Ash-zzzzz

Ash reached the peak after a little under a half an hour.

"Nice job Rapidash, you're even faster!" Ash smiled.

Rapidash whinnied happily. Ash then dismounted and left Rapidash to graze. He walked up the rest of the way and released Nidoking.

"Well, we're here. We just need to find your friends now," Ash smiled.

They walked for a while until they both spotted the group.

"Nido!" Nidoking shouted and the Nidorina from before called out happily and the rest of the herd followed and surrounded the two. Nidoking then started talking. He told her everything that had happened and how Ash was giving him the choice to stay or continue to train with him. Ash walked away and sat down, giving them privacy. He eventually turned around when he saw how happy Nidoking was... He belonged here. Ash started to walk away and halfway back to Rapidash he came face to face with a small squad of Team Rocket grunts.

"You!" One of them yelled.

Ash froze and started to back away. He didn't get the chance to summon a pokeball before one grunt grabbed him and soon a couple more had him too.

"Gotcha!" One yelled.

"Ah!" Ash yelped as his felt his arms come behind his back roughly

One of the grunts walked up and grabbed his head by his hair, "I've heard about some kid that's been messing with some of the grunts around the Kanto area mostly, though some people say you've messed with us everywhere. Regardless, you're going to regret that."

"Some one have the restraints?" Another grunt asked.

_This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad, _was all Ash could think in the grasp of the grunts.

Finally one approached with some metal restraints and placed them on Ash's wrists. The grunts let him go and one held his jacket near his neck. Ash tried to dash away until suddenly his body was engulfed with an electric charge.

"AHHHHH!" Ash cried out as he hit the ground.

Most of the grunts then laughed at him in his compromised state. Two came over and lifted him up.

"Let's move! We still have a mission to complete. You two are in charge of the prisoner, understood?" the grunt spoke.

"Understood sir!" The two said.

They started walking away and marching and struggling Ash with them until they heard a furious bellow.

zzzzz-The rest of the group-zzzzz

"Hmm..." Misty said looking up at the mountain.

"He's fine, Misty he'll be back soon," Brock said as they sat and watched their pokemon play. Many were snacking on treats they had bought at the Pallet market.

"Yeah... It's just been a couple hours now and he hasn't come back. Rapidash takes only an hour to travel up and down the mountain that means he's been at the peak for an hour or more..." Misty paused, "Either Nidoking is much more undeceive than I thought or something happened."

Everyone looked at her and each other, thinking over the logic of what Misty had said, before looking up at the mountain.

"Thirty more minutes... If he doesn't come back by then... We'll go check," Gary said.

"Okay..." Misty said, sighing and still looking at the mountain.

zzzzz-Ash-zzzzz

The grunts found themselves facing a very angry Rapidash. Rapidash pawed the ground and bellowed deeply before rearing high in the air and releasing a similarly furious whinny. One grunt finally noticed the reins he wore.

"Hey I bet this is this kid's Rapidash," The grunt said.

"Right," Another said.

"Hey there bud... Come on with us. You can be with your trainer and..." The grunt started, trying to reach for the reins before finding his hand in Rapidash's mouth.

"Ouch!" The grunt yelled before pulling away and bringing his hand away from Rapidash.

"Alright then," Another grunt said threateningly.

"Rapidash! Run, get away! They'll hurt you!" Ash yelled. He wasn't going to risk Rapidash being captured or hurt if he couldn't summon more help with his hands restrained. Soon his body erupted into pain once more with the onset of the electrical charge.

"AHHHHHH!" Ash cried out before hitting the ground again.

"Shut-up you!" One grunt shouted viciously.

Rapidash then bellowed and whinnied angrily. Watching them hurt his trainer was the last straw. Rapidash charged forward and started firing Flamethrowers into the crowd of grunts, careful not to hit his friend. The grunts scrambled and started releasing their pokemon to aid them. Rapidash started fighting furiously with two Arboks and three Koffing. Fire erupted all around. It looked as though Rapidash would soon be overcome. Ash struggled to his knees and watched Rapidash blast away as many enemies as possible. The Rockets then heard a loud and terrifying roar. Nidoking stood over on a ledge roaring down at the group. His eyes locked with Ash's eyes. Nidoking then roared in furry and thundered down the hill knocking Koffing and Sandslash away as he went. He then unleashed a Flamethrower that turned into a powerful Hyperbeam that decimated the ground it touched. The Rockets scattered and most returned their pokemon. Many were knocked unconscious by the explosion of the Hyperbeam. Some of the stragglers stepped forward again. Rapidash joined Nidoking, adding Flamethrowers in when needed. Nidoking was continuing to rampage and Rapidash was still fighting some.

Ash pulled himself up and eyed the remaining Grunts. Rapidash whinnied and fell to his knees from exhaustion.

"Rapidash..." Ash murmured. While Nidoking was still taking their attention away from him, he ran over to Rapidash, "Hey pal, think you have enough strength to break these?" Ash sat and placed his restrained hands near Rapidash's feet. Rapidash then reared and struck the metal, breaking it with his diamond-hard hooves. "Thanks," Ash smiled and stood up. He turned back towards the grunts. _Well time to see what I've learned..._ Ash ran forward and discreetly pooled aura into his hands. The first grunt was floored by a punch. Another nearby grunt ran over towards him. He was larger than Ash, sorta like Greg. Ash waited and thought about Bruno's remarks regarding strength and being able to hit one's target... As the man approached, he spun around the grunt's out-stretched arms and kicked the man in the back with an aura-fueled kick. From the momentum, the grunt ended up cramming his head into a nearby tree, knocking himself out. Ash chuckled slightly before turning his attention back towards the last couple grunts. Nidoking blasted one away. Ash ran up behind the other one and pulsed a small aura sphere into his back, causing the man to crumple to the ground. All the grunts were now gone or unconscious. Ash looked at his hands and sighed... He really did hate hurting things... He then looked up at Nidoking as a tired, but somewhat recovered, Rapidash approached as well.

"What are you doing here, Nidoking?" Ash asked.

"Nido king king nido!" Nidoking said before pointing at Ash.

"You... wanna still travel with me?" Ash asked.

Nidoking nodded and smiled.

"What about Nidorina, and the others?" Ash asked.

"Nido king king nido nido nido king," Nidoking replied.

"So you want to get even stronger and Nidorina said she'd be proud if her... wait her _son_ became strong and traveled? Nidorina is your mom?" Ash asked.

Nidoking nodded.

"Okay... Well if that's the case welcome to the team again, Nidoking! You can always come back too if you want," Ash said.

Nidoking nodded and Ash grabbed Rapidash's reins before starting to head down the mountain. Rapidash was too tired to carry him.

"We need to get down the hill fast as we can. Those Rockets could wake up and regroup and the others could get in trouble if we don't hurry and get away from here. At least I think they think you're wild, Nidoking... Wait maybe I have an idea," Ash turned his head towards a nearby ledge where his restraints laid, "Nidoking, use Hyperbeam on those restraints... burn them up real good. Then Earth power that ledge over there and place the restraints' remains near the edge," Ash commanded.

After Nidoking obeyed, Ash and Rapidash started down the mountain with Nidoking behind them, looking over his shoulder for any sign of trouble. They eventually got to the bottom of the mountain only to run into the rest of the group heading up...

zzzz-Together-zzzz

Misty got worried once she saw Rapidash walking beside Ash. She could see Ash was a bit dirty and his pokemon looked a bit worn out. She heard Pikachu's cheeks spark with electricity when Nidoking bellowed something.

"Ash! Hey big guy, what happened?" Brock asked as Ash approached the group.

Ash then started telling his story and after calming down everyone telling them he was fine thanks to Rapidash and Nidoking... He told them about Nidoking's decision and also what he had told Nidoking to do... He had faked his death...

"Faked your death huh?" Gary said.

"Well hopefully that means we'll at least be out of Team Rocket's gaze for a little while," Paul remarked.

"Yeah... That was pretty clever, Ash," Dawn smiled.

Ash nodded and then Misty hugged him, "Are you sure you're okay? I mean they electrocuted you, right?"

"Yeah I'm fine... I'm feeling much better now," Ash smiled and placed an arm around Misty. She then saw a bit of his lower arms looked red and inflamed.

"Your... arms..." Misty said with a frown before rage over came her, "I swear the next time I see a Rocket I'll mallet them into the ground!"

"Mist... It's fine... Thanks... but it's fine. That will go away, trust me. I've been electrocuted by Pikachu enough to know," Ash smirked and Misty smiled a bit.

"PikaPi," Pikachu said as he jumped up and nuzzled Ash's cheek.

"I'm fine buddy... but we do need to leave. Those Rockets will wake up and I don't want to be here when they do," Ash said.

Everyone agreed, packed up, returned their pokemon, and started to walk. Pikachu and Ellie were the only ones out and rested on Misty and Brock's shoulders because Pikachu refused to give Ash any trouble while he was still sort of recovering from his experience. It was finally evening and they stopped for the night to rest. Everyone went to sleep soon after they ate and slept, albeit a little uneasily, worrying a bit about Team Rocket and where they might be.

zzzzzz

The next morning they arrived in Rota.

"Wow! This place is really beautiful!" Dawn said looking around happily.

"Yeah! It sure is!" Iris agreed.

"What a wonderful flavor," Cilan smiled.

"This way everyone," Ash said and lead the way.

Soon they came close to the castle and Ash approached the guards standing by.

"Greetings. Sir Ashton Ketchum and guests to see her majesty," Ash said suddenly, with great formality, and bowed slightly.

The guards then waited until he rose. They both bowed lower than Ash had and one spoke, "But of course, sir. Give us but one moment," The other walked inside and after a moment an elderly man exited and smiled when he saw Ash,

"Ah yes yes! Sir Ashton. I'm ever so glad you've come to visit. Her majesty will be very happy. This way please," The man gestured into the castle and Ash nodded to everyone and they followed. Everyone introduced themselves and they found out the man's name was Richard.

"So how has everything been, Richard?" Ash asked.

"Oh quite well Sir," Richard smiled.

They walked around the corner and Richard stopped them, "Now this way Sir, to the changing rooms."

"Oh... Come on, Richard must I?" Ash asked.

Everyone in the group looked at each other confused.

"I'm sorry Sir but you know the rules," Richard said.

Ash sighed, "Alright. Pikachu, Ellie, keep everyone company. I'll be right back everyone."

Ash then entered a door and disappeared.

"What must Ash do?" Misty asked.

"Oh yes Miss... He must wear the traditional garb of his station. He is a knight of Lady Ilene and must wear the armor of his station as one of her two guardians," Richard smiled, "It makes things run smoother around here if one can easily distinguish between the various lords, ladies, knights, ectera."

"Oh... You mean because he's a knight to the queen and he's an aura guardian?" Max asked.

"Exactly," Richard nodded.

Ash then came out. He was wearing a dark blue sleeveless collared shirt. He wore smooth iron shoulder plates with a cape. His pants were even darker blue slacks. His shoes were dress shoes similar in appearance to Riley's. His pendant rested on his chest and a wide brimmed hat adorned his head.

"Happy?" Ash asked Richard with a bit of annoyance.

"Yes," Richard said simply.

"Well Ashy-Boy... I must concede... You must actually be a knight like you said," Gary smirked, "Who woulda thought?"

"Please do use a bit more formality speaking to Sir Ashton... Ashy-Boy or whatever you said is hardly respectable," Richard said suddenly.

"Richard. Leave them be. They're my guests and my friends. Treat them as you would me," Ash said firmly turning to Richard.

"Oh... Alright. As you wish, Sir," RIchard said and bowed, "Come to the throne room once you show your guests around and to their rooms," Richard then walked away.

"Geez Gary, you just got burned," Drew said.

"Hmph!" Gary huffed.

"Sorry about that Gary. Don't mind Richard. He's real up tight," Ash said with a frown.

"Meh, whatever Ashy-Boy," Gary smirked.

Ash smiled and he then led the group down the hall. They passed through a large living area and several maids were cleaning. One saw Ash walk by,

"Oh, greetings Sir Ashton," One said.

"Greetings Sir Ashton," The others soon followed.

"Ladies," Ash bowed slightly, "Keep up the fine work."

They all giggled and bit and continued their work.

"Hey I'm one of Sir Ashton's closest friends! You ladies wanna have a good time with me?" Brock said suddenly and Ash face-palmed.

"Oh no you don't!" Max said before grabbing Brock and dragging him away with the rest of the group.

Misty was frowning a bit, she was mad at the maids for giggling at Ash that way. She was glad that Max was on Brock duty though.

They continued walking and soon they met a guard.

"Sir Ashton," The guard said before bowing.

"I'm leading my guests to the royal quarters for their rooms," Ash said.

"Of course," The guard said and moved out of the way.

They entered one of the rooms in the special wing of the castle. The group was stunned by what they saw. It was a small condo. Enough room in the quarters for all of them to sleep. It had a small kitchen and a couple bathrooms. A few bedrooms with two bunk-beds each, one king bed, and a pull out, and finally a balcony.

"WOW! This is amazing, Ash!" Misty said and followed everyone in.

"I'm glad you all like it," Ash smiled and walked in with them. He placed his other clothes and backpack on a chair. He walked over to a chest and opened it. He pulled out a staff with a glistening blue crystal on top.

"Whoa that staff looks like Sir Aaron's," Max said.

"It is like his. Riley has one too. It helps other people within the castle identify us. You know, if the odd outfits aren't enough," Ash nodded with a smirk.

"This place is huge!" Chili said grinning big.

"Quite luxurious indeed," Cress smiled.

"Beautiful," Cilan nodded.

"This balcony is awesome! Look at that view!" Iris said and everyone joined her on the deck.

"Wow..." Ritchie broke the silence finally. The group gazed out over the city of Rota and the countryside that surrounded it.

Everyone stood for a while until Ash spoke, "Alright everyone leave your things here and let's go see the Queen about going to the tree."

Everyone nodded and they headed towards the throne room.

Queen Ilene stood as they entered. Riley was standing next to her. The group stopped and then Ash walked forward a bit, "Greetings my Queen." Ash said and kneeled.

"Greetings my guardian... rise," She said with a smile.

Ash rose and nodded to Riley, "Master, Riley."

"Ash," Riley said nodding to Ash as well.

"I have come to ask your permission to travel to the tree with my trusted guests. We wish to seek Mew's wisdom on a number of matters. They also wish to see where I've been training for some time," Ash spoke.

"I see... I will grant you my blessing on one condition," Queen Ilene said.

"Anything, my Queen," Ash bowed slightly again.

"We will be having a ball and tournament... Similar to the one you participated in all those years ago. A simple event, but never the less I want you here to help Riley honor the victor and be at the ball. Your friends are invited to compete or attend the ball or both if they desire. While they are here they will be treated as my honored guests as well. Please all of you enjoy your stay here," Ilene said before bowing slightly and walking away to attend to other matters.

"Ash and friends, it's been some time," Riley said as he approached.

"It sure has, Riley," Brock responded.

"It's nice to see you again," Dawn smiled

Paul glanced at Dawn then Riley and scowled slightly.

"A pleasure, Brock, Dawn," Riley said with a slight bow.

Riley was also wearing iron shoulder plates with his usual outfit and a cape. His Lucario stood beside him. Ash introduced his other friends.

"How has your training been?" Riley smiled happily.

"Good I think. Oh and I have some one who would like to meet you I'm sure," Ash smiled and released Lucario and Zoroark.

**Master Riley... It has been awhile.**

"Ah yes same to you, friend," Riley nodded.

**"It has been a while comrade," **Riley's Lucario spoke and soon both jackal pokemon began talking with Pikachu and Ellie.

"That's cool, your Lucario can talk too now, Riley," Dawn smiled and Riley nodded before turning to face Zoroark.

"A pleasure to met you, Zoroark," Riley spoke and bowed.

**Oh wow, another Aura Guardian how lucky am I?** Zoroark smiled.

"You are training to be one of Ash's aura links... How interesting..." Riley said.

**How'd you know?**

"Because of your coloring and your aura... I can remember a few tales of Zoroark partners to Aura Guardians. I am continuously impressed by your aptitude for gaining links, Ash. Your Aura limit must be very high," Riley spoke.

"Aura limit?" Drew asked.

"Aura limit dictates your total potential for your power," Ash smiled at the group.

"Correct. My limit only allows for one partner. Ash has three so far... I'm pretty sure Aaron had four in his life-time. A Lucario, a Pigeot, an Umbreon, and a Rapidash," Riley said.

"How did those pokemon link with him? They can't use aura like Lucario, Riolu, Meinfoo, Meinshao, Zorua, or Zoroark can right?" Brock asked.

"Well Ash's Pikachu did. It isn't completely unheard off. Those with the power can accomplish it. Some other pokemon that can easily adapt to aura and use it are the Eeveelutions and the Meditite evolution line," Riley said.

"Wait, Pikachu can use aura? I mean I saw its stripes glow but I didn't think it was him causing it," Gary asked.

"Yes... I was going to keep it a secret but, well Pikachu can mix aura with his electricity... He can become partially fighting type for a limited amount of time," Ash smiled.

"Whoa! No way!" May said.

They group continued to talk until Riley asked Ash to join him for something. Ash excused himself and left with him. Lucario, Riley's Lucario, Pikachu, Ellie, and Zoroark took a tour of their own around the palace. The rest of the group decided to take a look at the town of Rota.

zzzz-The group-zzzz

"Whoa look at that!" Iris said before running over to a stand and looking at some gifts available.

"It's so awesome here," Drew said looking all around.

"I know, right? And I've been here before!" Max said.

"Hmm?" Cress mused.

Everyone looked at where he was staring and saw the other group.

"HEY!" Barry yelled and pointed at them soon the two groups were together.

"Hey by the way... Where's Ash?" Solidad asked.

"Oh um well..." Misty started.

"He's busy right now, but you'll see him later," Dawn grinned mischievously.

"What's that supposed to mean, Dee Dee?" Kenny asked.

"Don't call me Dee Dee and you'll see," Dawn smiled.

They continued to talk and the second group said they were going to compete in the tournament as some practice for the Master challenge. Everyone moaned when they noticed Ursula and Damian's group were walking through town too. They saw many other people too that they knew who where in different groups. Angie from the pokemon camp in Sinnoh, Macy was here too. Even Conway and Morrison, to name a few. Eventually the two groups separated at the castle.

"May, hun, where are you guys going?" Harley asked as Ash's group started walking towards the castle.

"Oh we're guests of the queen," May said with a grin.

"Wait what!?" Barry yelled.

"Why you guys?" Trip asked and arched an eyebrow.

"Explain!" Bianca said.

"You'll see tomorrow," Iris said simply with a smirk.

They walked inside with everyone snickering about their secret.

zzzzzzz

The next morning the ceremony for the tournament was going to begin. All the competitors got ready on the field and the Queen walked up. Cheers erupted from the crowd. Riley approached her left side and Ash approached her right in her royal box. The Rota girls in the crowd went wild at the sight of the knights of Rota.

zzzz-On the field-zzzz

"Wait so Ash is a knight!?" Barry shouted.

"That's right! One of Lady Ilene's guardians," Iris smiled.

"Because of his aura. He and Riley are the only two Aura Guardian's left in the world, remember?" Paul said.

"That's right..." Nando said.

"Impossible! That loser is a knight!?" Damian screeched.

The two groups looked over scowling.

"How interesting..." Ursula said. It seemed even she was effected like the other girls in the crowd by Ash's appearance with his armor.

Damian looked at Ursula and started growling at Ash.

"Oh! I knew it! See I told you, Georgia, Burgundy... Ash is brave and kind! A perfect knight," Macy cooed.

"Hmmm. I knew he was brave but wow," Angie said.

"I could tell something was different about him," Anabel said, suddenly revealing she was in the Master's challenge with her own team.

"LAY OFF!" Misty suddenly erupted and all the people in Ash's group went pale.

"Why's that!? He's not your boyfriend, remember last time I asked Misty? He's free game," Macy smiled.

"Wrong! He's my boyfriend!" Misty growled.

"Really?" Macy asked looking sad, but slightly suspicious.

"Yes, really! You can ask him or anyone here," Misty said, pointing to her group and the second group.

"Sorry, hun. He's definitely taken," Harley said, surprisingly.

Misty smiled at Harley until she heard Ursula.

"We'll see if he doesn't change his mind..." Ursula said suddenly.

"WHAT!?" Damian and Misty said at the same time.

"You have to prove yourself again before I forgive you, Damian... Also Ash would be able to give me all I need... He's buddy buddy with a Queen after all. I just have to show Ash exactly what he's missing," Ursula said.

Damian started fuming and Misty growled, "Ash isn't like that... Macy's right about one thing, Ash is kind and won't take you or anyone for looks alone. Besides... even if for some reason he dumped me..." Misty said sadly, "I would never let you trick him... I was there with him from the beginning and I care about him deeply. I won't stand by as a friend and let you use him... He doesn't deserve that," Misty finished.

"I guess we'll see then..." Ursula said.

"Hmph," Misty said and turned away.

The rest of the two groups frowned and turned away as well

zzzz-Together-zzzz

"I hope for good fortune for the competitors here today," The Queen finished and turned to Riley and nodded.

Riley stepped forward, "Please walk forward to the desks in front of you to find out your opponent and time of your battle," Ash then stepped forward,

"Please show respect to your fellow competitors and have a good time. May the Aura be with you all." Ash finished.

Riley and Ash then suddenly jumped out of the box and landed down on the stands. Girls started screaming excitedly as the two dashed down the bleachers and separated. They dashed all the way around the stadium and then leaped out and disappeared to the outside of the stadium to begin patrolling.

The competition ended with A fierce battle between Solidad and Virgil, who was also competing in the Master Challenge with a group of his own. Most of the others in the two groups ranked very high. Misty defeated Ursula in one battle and Brock defeated Damian in another. Max lost to Anabel. The winner in the end was Solidad. Solidad was gifted a medal with the seal of Rota on it. She was approached by Riley and Ash who bowed to her and she blushed a bit at the treatment.

The groups and competitors separated to get ready for the ball that was later that night. Ash's group entered their royal guest room and most plopped down to rest for a moment.

"Well... We still need to get stronger," Max said and sat on the couch.

"Yeah, That Solidad's a tough cookie," Gary said.

"Tell me about it," Drew and May said at the same time and blushed.

"I think she's simply amazing..." Brock said and then Ritchie patted Brock on the back.

"Now now Brock, you've been doing so good," Ritchie said.

Brock sulked and then nodded, "Okay okay..."

Cilan noticed Misty was staring out the balcony window,

"Hey Misty... You okay?" CIlan asked and the group turned to look at her.

Misty turned to them and sighed, "I guess I was just a bit upset after today... Those girls were kinda getting on my nerves talking about Ash like a piece of meat in armor... Especially Ursula... I'm not worried about Ash cheating on me, but well I guess it just upset me you know?" Misty asked.

"Misty... It's okay to feel that way," May smiled.

"Yeah completely understandable," Ritchie said.

"Yeah I thought us guys were the ones that were bad at the whole treating women like pieces of meat, but you girls are just as bad," Gary shrugged.

"Really!" Max said and stuck out his tongue.

"Yeah I guess we're both kinda guilty, huh?" Dawn asked.

"Yep," Paul said.

"Love is weird," Chili said finally.

"You said it," Ritchie smiled.

Everyone then started laughing. Soon they started getting ready for the ball. Ash then entered. He greeted everyone and congratulated them on their good work in the competition and went to take a shower. Pikachu and Ellie were asleep on the couch and Lucario and Zoroark began meditating on the balcony. Ash got back into his clothes and began putting on his armor when Misty walked back into the main room of their condo after taking her own shower. She saw him place, what looked like, the heavy iron shoulder plates on. After a few adjustments he placed his wide brimmed hat on his head and turned to leave as Lucario and Zoroark started to follow. PIkachu and Ellie soon jumped down to follow as well, until he turned to her,

"You need something, Mist?" Ash asked.

Misty froze, _I need to speak to him... He must have noticed me from my aura..._

_~zzz~_

_"Mist... stop trying to play 20 questions with me and just talk to me... You can trust me with anything... You know that, right? I would never do anything to hurt you... ever..."_

_~zzz~_

Misty smiled, "I just wanted to tell you something..."

Misty started telling him what Ursula had said to her and everything that happened on the field before the competition. Ash listened and nodded and blushed at times. Finally he spoke,

"Thanks for the warning, Mist... I'll stay away from them the best I can. I have to be proper because I'm a knight and all, but I'll try to make sure you don't feel uncomfortable," Ash smiled.

"Oh no no... It's not me... I just didn't want them to treat you that way," Misty said.

"Don't worry about me Mist. Hey maybe I'll tell Queen Ilene your my girlfriend and I'm sure she'll understand if I act funny around some of the women. She had been asking me last time I was here if I had been seeing someone. She liked to tease me about it with Riley. Really they're fun people when they don't have to be all proper and stuff," Ash grinned.

Misty smiled back and kissed him on the cheek, "See you at the ball."

"I'll see you there, my lady," Ash said cheekily before bowing and turning to leave.

After a few more hours everyone made their way down to the ballroom. Misty wore a blue ruffled dress, Iris a yellow, May a red, and Dawn a green. Drew wore his contest outfit and many of the guys wore similar attire from the wardrobe in the condo. Max kept pulling at his collar in annoyance. Soon they entered the ballroom. After a while everyone split up to do their own things.

zzzzz-Brock-zzzzz

"Why hello!"

"Sorry no."

"Oh hi there, beautiful."

"Nope."

Brock sulked over to a chair and sat down. Even the famous Brock could only take so much rejection... Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey there, care to dance, handsome?"

Brock turned to face the person and was pleasantly surprised, "Lucy?"

Soon happy laughter could be heard from a dancing couple, The Rock-Solid pokemon trainer and the Pike Queen...

zzzzz-Gary-zzzzz

"Hmph, well Gary... You really need to find another hobby other than pokemon research... It's aging you too quick. You've lost your touch with the ladies," Gary moaned to himself, as he watched other couples dance. He thought he saw Brock dancing with a girl with black hair, "Great... Even Brock-o beat you to the punch."

"What's the matter Gare-bear? Having no fun being a loner?"

Gary turned around and saw someone he hadn't seen in years...

"Leaf..."

The two started to dance. Mocking each other playfully as the night wore on.

zzzzz-Max-zzzzz

"So boring..." Max grumbled.

"Yeah but it's fun to look at all the pretty dresses and such. I wish I knew how to dance better."

Max turned to see a girl sitting beside him that he knew from Petalburg. She had started her journey with him and Nate.

"Hey Laura."

"Heya Max," the girl smiled.

The two then started talking about trivial things...

zzzzz-Ritchie-zzzzz

"Assunta?" Ritchie asked when he thought he saw the girl he had lost to in the Indigo League all those years ago.

"Ritchie? Is that you?" Assunta said and approached.

They began to talk about what they had been doing that last few years.

"Would you like to dance?" Ritchie asked suddenly.

"Sure, why not..."

zzzzz-Chili-zzzzz

"Hello miss... I um... you... you want to dance?" Chili asked tentatively.

The girl turned around and looked at him, "Chili?"

"Coronia?" Chili stuttered, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with my group in the Master challenge... I guess you are too," Coronia spoke softly.

"Yeah... It's been forever," Chili replied.

"Yep since we were very young children playing at the daycare center," Coronia smiled.

"Yeah..." Chili nodded.

"Shall we?" Coronia extended her arm.

"Let's," Chili replied.

zzzzz-Cress-zzzzz

"You're miss Burgundy, correct?" Cress asked as he approached Burgundy.

"Oh," Burgundy looked up from her cup, surprised by the sudden company, "Yeah that's me... Your one of Cilan's brothers right?" She let her head rest on one of her hands and looked Cress over with an unimpressed glance.

"Yes that's true. Where is your friend, Georgia?" Cress asked.

"Oh... She's been talking and spending her time with Trip..." Burgundy shrugged.

"I see... Care to honor me with this dance?" Cress asked.

Burgundy looked at him with skepticism, "You aren't trying to sweep me off my feet cause I'm lonely or try to get my connoisseur secrets from me for Cilan... Are you?"

"I wouldn't dream of such a thing. We may be triplets but we are quite different people... Like the elements we specialize in," Cress replied.

They both walked out into the room and began to dance.

zzzzz-Cilan and Iris-zzzzz

"Iris, why aren't you dancing or enjoying the party?" Cilan asked as he approached her.

"Huh? Oh Cilan, it's you..." Iris said, "I guess it's just all the people here... makes me nervous... And well... I don't know how to dance... Not like everyone here."

"Well... We can't have that can we?" Cilan started, "Come, I'll teach you. Besides just keep your eyes on me, there's no need to be nervous."

Iris stared for a moment then smiled, "Okay..."

They started to dance with Cilan leading Iris in the steps...

"I suppose you could say... It's dancing time!" Cilan grinned and started dancing more complexly now that Iris had learned the basic steps.

"You're such a little kid..." Iris said softly as she followed suit.

zzzzz-Paul and Dawn-zzzzz

Zoey started to walk towards Paul... Sure she didn't like him much since their first meeting, but she was going to talk to him and tell him to be nice to his group. She was also curious since he had seemed to relax more since joining Ash's group. She was a few steps away when she realized he was talking to... Dawn.

"This place really is beautiful..." Dawn smiled.

"Yes it is..." Paul smiled as well, "I need to thank you, Dawn... And Ash and the others at some point... You all have given me something I never really thought I had or needed."

"Paul... You don't have to thank us..." Dawn spoke.

Zoey heard all of this and was shocked at first to see Paul smile and then talk to Dawn without saying something rude.

"Um... Would you care to dance?" Paul said looking at Dawn who blushed, "My way of thanking you for believing in me before anyone else did... You know at the Safari zone?"

Dawn paused before smiling, "Sure. Sounds wonderful."

"I can't say that I'm an expert at dancing though," Paul spoke as they rose. A somewhat stoic look returned to his face.

"No need to worry," Dawn nodded.

Zoey watched in amazement as the two got up and started to dance. Laughing and smiling...

"I guess... my mother was always right... People can change and always deserve a second chance," Zoey smiled before turning and walking away into the crowd, "Maybe Kenny isn't busy..."

zzzzz-Drew and May-zzzzz

"Look at that! Barry and Bianca, Nando and Solidad, Even Clemont and Serena are dancing together, how sweet," May said.

"Yeah," Drew said somewhat nervously.

"You okay Drew?" May asked.

Drew flinched and looked up. He looked down briefly at the rose he had placed in his lapel. He calmed himself and turned to face her, "May... Would you dance with me?"

He held out the rose to her...

"Another rose for Beautifly, huh?" May asked. She was expecting to hear another cryptic response like she normally got.

"No," Drew said simply; it couldn't be clearer than that...

May took the rose and smelled it and looked into Drew's eyes trying to read them...

"Okay, let's show these people how co-ordinators dance, eh?" May smiled.

"Yeah," Drew grinned.

They began to dance.

Harley leaned over to Solidad, who had taken a break with Nando from dancing.

"See there they are... I'm two for two so far," Harley grinned.

"I never said you would be wrong... I said not to interfere," Solidad smiled slyly back.

"Whatever..." Harley growled, "Could you get me some punch? Being cupid makes one parched," Harley smirked.

"Hmph, fine your royal highness," Solidad said before rising.

"Hmph and don't you forget it," Harley nodded as Solidad walked away...

zzzzz-Ash and Misty-zzzzz

Misty sat. She was tired from refusing to dance... She wanted to dance with Ash... She could tell all the men who had asked her had hoped or thought she was single since no one was around. Then she saw him. People moved out of the way as he walked through from the corridor he had come from. He approached her and Misty could see some of the women looking at him and then her as he got closer and closer, it made her smile.

"Sorry, Mist. I had to finish up my rounds. Riley has it for a while, Lucario, Zoroark, Pikachu, and Ellie are helping too so I have some time now," Ash smiled.

"That's wonderful. You've been working real hard," Misty said standing.

"A compliment? No, you're so lazy Ash Ketchum, stop whining, Ash?" Ash asked cheekily.

"Not tonight, Sir Ashton..." Misty smiled happily as he took her hand and lead her farther onto the dance floor.

They started to dance about. Misty was pleasantly surprised by Ash's ability to dance. She placed her hand slightly under his shoulder plate. They danced for what seemed for forever and at one point they kissed mid-dance, which, to Misty's delight, made several girls nearby, thinking they'd get a turn perhaps, groan. Misty locked eyes with Ursula briefly who seemed to be studying them... Misty quickly looked back into Ash's eyes and soon the rest of the world didn't matter again. Something caught her eye. She took a quick glance up towards a tapestry, that she had been told earlier depicted Sir Aaron, and she was suddenly in awe of how oddly similar he and Ash appeared. She then glanced about the room and could see everyone else in the two groups dancing with someone; she was glad everyone was having a good time and maybe even finding a dance partner within their own group. Eventually Ash and Misty stopped; he led her to the side.

"Sorry Mist, I have to go and help relieve Riley from his post," Ash nodded.

"Oh okay. Thanks for the dance, Ash," Misty smiled.

"Truly my pleasure Miss Waterflower," Ash grinned and started to walk away when he froze before rushing forward as a cry echoed through the hall.

**zzzzzz**

**Oh no! I wonder if it's Team Rocket again!? Maybe... Maybe not... You might be surprised :P**

**Also you all get kinda a foreshadowing of all the pairings and such. Harley seems to have a lot of fun playing cupid as he said. Laura is like Nate in that they started their journey's at the same time. Leaf was also one of the trainers to get their pokemon when Ash and Gary did. Coronia is someone I made up who used to play at the Day care center north of Striation city; she and Chili met there a long time ago. **

**Aura limit is something I kinda made up. This will be explained more as the story progresses.**

**As for Aaron's aura links... I just thought that if Ash was related to Aaron in some way, then they should have a similar Aura limit. I just kinda picked pokemon that would fit him and the uses of a somewhat medieval time-period.**

**Pikachu can use aura, but it's limited being he isn't really an aura prone pokemon. Any pokemon that links with an Aura guardian can use aura afterwards to some degree, but Aura limit prevents someone from linking with every pokemon they meet.**

**Answer some questions:**

**Dream Guardian King Allen (and anyone else who had the same question): The Kalos pokemon will appear though I've been trying ever so hard to hold out until the anime reveals which pokemon Ash will catch (at least three more to fill his first party) Anywho since the chapter after next will feature all of his pokemon I have come up with a default until then. I want to stay cannon as possible with _most_ everything I can though I realize it can be hard since the anime is just really starting in Kalos. I will say that every pokemon Ash has or will get will be battling in the final tournament or at some point. :)**

**IrritatedBookWor: I'm flattered by your praise. And that's fine that you aren't a member. I didn't join until this month and I've been reading on the site for a while. One of the reasons I can pose chapters so quick is because I've been working on this story for fun until I finally decided to post and see what other people thought. I have Johto Arc almost completed and Hoenn is in it's planning stage.**

**pokegirl2: I just wanted to thank you for the favorite since I noted you don't use the PM system :)**

**Review, Fav, Follow, and Enjoy! :D**


	20. The Tree of Beginning and Arc End

**WARNING:**** This is the Last chapter in the Intro and Kanto Arc! Anyone who has been following this story You will need to find the next Arc (A separate story) If I am unable to use a link or something to get you there automatically (I honestly have no idea if that kinda thing will work) maybe I'll post the link at the bottom and then you copy it into your address bar? IDK. Any who I just wanted to warn ya :)**

**We are at the end of the Kanto Arc! Hooray!**

**NOTE:**** Also anyone who has an OC who would be traveling in Hoenn or native to that region... If you wanna appear in the story, briefly as a cameo or something, check my profile for more info on that. I need the Hoenn one especially since Hoenn is now in it's planning stages. Also t those that have offered their cameos so far, I will tell you the chapter before you are introduced or hinted at. I will give everyone a chance to have the same amount of coverage. So if you get the chance to be hinted at and someone else actually meets up with the group, you will get the reverse at some other point.**

**I have a question for all who are reading this story. Check the new poll on my profile, please :)**

**Arlghty, on to the good stuff:**

zzzzzzzzzzzz

Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 18

Brock: 23

Gary: 18

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 17

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 24

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 18

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 18

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

_Thoughts_

**Lucario talking unless stated otherwise**

**Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise**

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The music and dancing stopped. Everyone faced the direction of the sound and saw Ash running forward. Riley suddenly leapt back from the shadows as three Zoroark followed. Pikachu flew through the air from the corridor along with Riley's Lucario, Ash's Lucario, and Ash's Zoroark; they all struck the ground hard. A man then walked into the light holding the scruff of an unconscious Ellie.

"Grings Kodai!" Brock shouted.

Grings turned his head to his name and grinned, "Ah... You're familiar... where are your friends? They here?"

"Let Ellie, go!" Ash shouted.

Grings then spotted him and froze when he saw Ash's attire.

"You... Your a guardian... Of course," Grings said and then looked at Ellie, "I assume this is yours?"

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted and flew at him, biting his arm hard.

"AHHHH!" Grings shouted in pain and released Ellie.

Ash ran forward with Riley close behind.

"Oh no you don't! Zoroark, my pets! Night daze on them! Freeze them in their tracks!" Grings shouted as a maddened glint flickered in his gold eyes.

Riley's Lucario got up and soon dove at Riley, knocking him out of the way before the dark energy rose from the ground around him.

Ash on the other hand wasn't as lucky. Ash's Lucario was just barely starting to get up from the surprise attack and Ash's Zoroark was still unconscious.

Ash couldn't sense the move and he didn't deviate from his course towards Grings, before the attack rose from the ground. Ash froze in place at first and just stared straight ahead, then

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ash screamed out in pure agony, as he felt his energy start to leave him. Tendrils of dark energy swirled around him.

"Ash!" Misty yelled.

Ash soon fell to his knees and grabbed his chest. His pendant glowed erratically and blazed a feeble blue light through the shroud of darkness.

**Master!**

**What have you done to him!?**

"PikaPi!" Pikachu cried out as he tried to pull Ellie away on his back.

"Ash!" Riley yelled out, as he recovered from Lucario's shove, "We have to get him out of that! Now!"

Misty suddenly rushed forward and dove at Ash. She tackled him to the ground, away from the attack. She felt some pain as she passed through the dark energy attack but it didn't matter, so long as she helped Ash.

"Mist. Thank you," Ash said as they laid for a moment. He shook his head and tried to get up on somewhat wobbly arms. He started to form an Aura sphere, though he could tell it was smaller than normal.

"What!? But Night daze should've left you useless, drained you of your aura for a period of time!" Grings shouted.

"His aura is too strong for him to be taken down so easily, and so is mine! May the aura be with us!" Riley shouted and clapped his hands together. A blue light surrounded him and reached out to Ash and his pokemon. Ash's posture suddenly improved and the Aura sphere he was making started to grow. Riley's Lucario, Ash's Lucario, Ash's Zoroark, and Pikachu started to charge up Aura spheres with their masters. Pikachu's came from his tail like an Electroball.

Grings' three Zoroark attacked as at that moment.

Ash ran forward and slammed an Aura sphere into one of the Zoroarks' faces. Ash saw Riley's Lucario do the same to a separate one. Pikachu had followed up on Ash's attack by slamming another sphere into the weakened Zoroark, while Ash's Lucario had given Riley's Lucario support. Riley ran forward towards Grings but was blocked by Ash's Zoroark and one of Grings' Zoroark battling in front of him. Ash's Zoroark was wrestling on the ground like a wild animal with the third enemy Zoroark and her voice rang out,

**Shame on you! You are a disgrace to all Zoroark! You attack a guardian! You side with darkness! Do not lower yourself to this!**

Ash's Zoroark then batted the other Zoroark away.

"Rak zoro," The pokemon said and cowered slightly.

**You're sorry?**

Ash's Zoroark smiled and turned to face the another opponents, not realizing she had been tricked due to her naive nature.

**Comrade! Watch out!**

Ash's Lucario pushed Zoroark out of the way as the dark energy of Night daze spiraled around him.

**AHHHHHHHH!**

**No! Lucario!**

Ash's Zoroark cried out before suddenly glowing red and roaring.

**Leave my friends alone!**

She ran forward and blasted the Zoroark with a super powerful Night daze that wrapped and twisted haphazardly around an Aura sphere, as if two poles of a magnet were being forced together. Lucario was released from the attack.

After a little more fighting all three Zoroark were fully unconscious. Grings locked eyes with Ash,

"You have the power I seek... If I can have aura then Celebi will come and I can have my power I lost before, again," Grings said.

"You misunderstand! Aura doesn't automatically mean any pokemon will trust you! You must gain its trust with or without aura!" Riley growled.

"You are a danger to this world and a danger to the kingdom of Rota, you will be defeated," Ash said before rushing forward with Riley at his side.

"Not today..." Grings said before returning his pokemon. A Natu landed on his shoulder and teleported him away.

Ash and Riley stood waiting for a few moments using their aura to sense if anything else was present.

"He has gone very far away..." Riley said finally, turning to face the Queen who came forward after escaping her body guards.

"That is good... We will need to heal your partners," The Queen spoke softly.

"Zoroark. Zoroark!" Ash said suddenly, noticing his Zoroark was still glowing red and growling.

"It's okay Zoroark... He's gone," Ash flinched when he touched Zoroark, because of the dark energy that surrounded her.

She soon returned to normal.

**Master... I'm sorry**

She licked his hand that looked red from touching her.

"It's okay... You just wanted to protect us," Ash smiled.

**Thank you comrade. **Lucario said and bowed to her.

**Lucario...**

**"Your help was appreciated young one,"** Riley's Lucario spoke.

Ash then leaned down to scoop up Ellie who was waking up.

"Let's get you fixed up, okay?" Ash asked and stroked her head.

"Chu..." Ellie smiled.

"PikaPi pika chu pika," Pikachu said as he walked up.

"Well, I guess that was dinner and a show, eh?" Gary smirked as the two groups walked up.

"Not appropriate right now, Gary," Misty snorted.

"Sorry sorry just trying to distill the tension," Gary shrugged.

The people were dismissed from the castle. Ash's group, Queen Ilene, and Riley walked about the castle to get to the infirmary. Ash's pokemon and Riley's Lucario were placed in the Nurse Joy's care. They then sat down to talk about what happened. Brock, Ash, and Dawn first explained what they knew about Grings Kodai and then Riley explained what Grings had been thinking, using Night daze like he did.

"Night daze is an ancient technique to be honest. It is a move only Zorua and Zoroark can learn. This move is devastating on Aura guardians for whatever reason. Their energy is drained rapidly and viciously. Most often that can do serious, sometimes permanent damage to untrained aura adepts. The hunters used to finish the guardians off while they were unable to move, much less fight back," Riley spoke grimly.

"No sense of honor at all!" Cilan growled.

"That's awful," Dawn said sadly.

"Ash... You got hit by one of those attacks..." Misty said, worried.

"Yeah how did it feel?" Max asked.

"Max!" May chastised.

"I'm fine. It felt just like Riley said though. My power felt like it was leaving my body rapidly," Ash said and pulled Misty closer to calm her, "But Misty saved me."

Misty smirked, "Again."

"Yes again," Ash grinned, "Oh and Riley did that weird technique that helped... What was that?"

"It was a Heal pulse technique... I'm more aligned with slight offensive and major healing aura arts so such a move I can preform easily enough. You are more defensive and minor offensive aligned from what I've observed. Everyone develops differently this way regardless of heritage. It solely depends on one's personality or being." Riley nodded.

"I see," Brock responded.

The pokemon were healed and returned to their master's sides. Ash returned Lucario and Zoroark so they could rest. Pikachu and Ellie made their way up to Ash's shoulders. Riley's Lucario stood by Riley. Everyone decided it was time to sleep. Many non-aura knights were assigned to keep watch during the night so that Ash and Riley could properly rest after their battle with Grings. Everyone had changed and were in the condo.

"I thought that guy was taken care of..." Dawn sighed.

"He must have been released by someone..." Drew said.

"Really?" Chili asked.

"Makes sense... He couldn't have been released from prison normally before now," Paul said.

"The problem is... who released him?" Brock spoke.

"Right," Iris nodded.

"Well I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him..." Cress spoke.

"Yeah," May frowned.

"Why do all these crazy guys like to follow us?" Max asked.

"Because Ashy-Boy's a freak-magnet that's why, right bud? bud?" Gary asked, as he saw Ash get up and walk to the balcony alone.

Misty glared at him.

"Heh... I guess I pushed it too far," Gary laughed nervously before frowning.

"Ash always feels like things are his, fault. He no doubt blames himself," Misty said before getting up and walking towards the balcony.

"I didn't mean it... He should know we don't care," Gary said to the others.

"Maybe but Ash will still blame himself, especially if any of us get hurt. That's just the way he is," Brock said putting a hand on Gary's shoulder.

"Sorry guys... I don't mean to be all broody," Ash said as he returned with Misty, "I just don't want you guys to get too caught up in this, that's all."

"Don't worry about it Ash," Ritchie said.

"Yeah we wouldn't be here if we didn't want to be," Drew grinned.

Everyone nodded.

"Pika!"

"Chu!"

Pikachu and Ellie cried in agreement.

"Yeah... Okay," Ash smiled and Misty held his hand.

"Much better," Misty smiled.

Everyone talked some more about their trip to the Tree of Beginning tomorrow before finally going to bed. Everyone slept well except Ash; who seemed to be tossing and turning, his dreams filled with thoughts of how familiar the pain from Night daze had felt... Though he knew he had never been attacked by it before...

zzzzzz

"Thank you my guardian for attending the party and helping to defend Rota from that evil man. I pray your travels will be good, please keep safe," Queen Ilene spoke, "And it was a pleasure to meet all of you as well."

She then handed Ash a pair of gloves which he held before placing them in his backpack.

"Use these to increase your power when you need to. They will help you focus your energy better, especially when practicing and training your aura," Ilene spoke.

"My honor, my queen," Ash said bowing, but now wearing his normal traveling clothes.

"I'll stay for a while longer to make sure Grings doesn't return, before I return to Sinnoh for a time," Riley said.

"Be careful Riley, It was great seeing both of you," Ash smiled, "May the aura be with you."

"May the aura be with you as well," Queen Ilene and Riley said to Ash.

The group then walked out of the castle. They met up with the second group. They told them Ash and the pokemon were fine. They said their goodbyes. Burgundy and Ash again said that maybe next time they would get the chance to help solve the problem with Fearow before something crazy stopped them. Ash's group was about to leave town when suddenly an older man's voice rang out.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" The man shouted.

The group turned to face a monk with a pokemon following behind.

"Greetings, Unsui," Ash said and bowed.

"Ah greetings, Sir Ashton, correct? You see this pokemon here," The monk spoke and let the pokemon come out from hiding. It was a Meinfoo.

"He has studied you the past couple of days... You see he was given a destiny to find a trainer that could teach him to grow stronger in the right way... He has chosen you young guardian," The monk spoke.

"Huh? Hmmm okay, Is that true, Meinfoo?" Ash asked and leaned down to let Meinfoo place a hand in Ash's. Ash let some aura flow into Meinfoo.

**_Yes I wish to join you. I am not very strong but my wisdom is vast enough._**

"I see. Strength doesn't matter to me though. You are welcome to come if you'd like," Ash smiled.

**_Thank you Master._**

"You too?" Ash asked and then sighed.

**_Sorry but if I am to become a proper aura partner to you, then I must treat you as my Master._**

"You want to aura link with him?" Misty asked, suddenly a little worried remembering what sad memories Ash had to endure last time.

**_Yes If that is okay._**

"That's fine, Meinfoo... How about we link at the Tree of Beginning? We are traveling there now," Ash asked.

**_Wonderful, Master. Thank you._**

Ash then captured him in the Luxury ball he had bought in Pallet. They said their goodbyes to the monk and soon were a few miles out of Rota and heading towards the Tree of Beginning.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Somewhere in Kanto-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Cages, filled with pokemon, were being stacked on top of each other. One of the Rocket grunts stacking them was tapped on the shoulder by another grunt. Someone whispered to him commands and he saluted before walking away.

In a room a man sat in shadows... behind a desk.

"Jessie, James, Meowth. I'm glad you made it. Jeremy, Chas, Roman, Vane... Welcome."

"Sir!" All of the Rocket agents saluted their boss. Jeremy, the grunt who had stolen the young girl's pokemon, had black hair and eyes to match. Chas, who had managed the Mt. Moon mission, had orange hair with freckles and bright green eyes that glinted with malice. Roman, who had been in charge of the Mt. Hideaway expedition, was tanner than the others and had dark brown hair and forest green eyes.

"Right..." Giovanni turned in his chair to face his agents, "I have heard a few disappointing things the past month or so. We'll start with the Lavender take over... Vane, an explanation of why you didn't return with the information we needed?"

"Yes I'll tell you what I know, Sir," Vane bowed, "Somehow a group of children entered the tower and distracted us long enough for Lance and his men to arrive. I never got any information out of our target."

Jessie, Meowth, and James exchanged a quick and somewhat nervous glance with each other.

"Wasn't the tower locked though with the key cards?" Giovanni asked, spinning a pen idly.

"Yes sir, we are still unsure how they got in," Vane answered.

"Okay, either someone... has betrayed us... or they got a key card somehow. We'll give our members benefit of the doubt since I'm in a good mood at the moment and see if we can figure out how they might have gotten inside," Giovanni spoke simply.

"The only way they could've gotten in, that I can imagine, is if they were in disguise," Vane said plainly.

"You're saying fourteen kids got under our noses?" Chas snorted.

"No... They would only need one. Someone perhaps who may have done it before. There have been reports of a boy that's been giving us some trouble," Vane stated calmly.

Roman shifted uncomfortably, "You think it's that Ketchum?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth flinched.

"Yeah! That kid got me thrown in the slammer! He'd be the one to try something like that," Jeremy growled.

"Jeremy if I recall you were with several others, guarding the key cards... did you happen to see anyone suspicious?" Vane asked.

"Hmmmm... Naw only one person came and asked for a key card, some guy named Cole," Jeremy paused.

"Did he say why he needed a card?" Vane asked suspiciously.

Jeremy flinched and gulped, "He ummm... he said you wanted some company from a lady, sir. That he was commanded to go get a card key."

Vane's face went red with anger and Giovanni started to bore holes into Vane, "Explanation?"

"I never did any such thing," Vane controlled himself, "This Cole person must be a fake."

"I'll check the files, for this Cole," Matori spoke, leaving Giovanni's side.

"Hmmm. Cole, eh?" Giovanni murmured and held his chin.

Matori came back, "There is no one named Cole in the system sir."

"I see so this person is an impostor... but who is he?" Jeremy asked.

"Do you remember anything about his face?" Vane asked.

"Well... he did look kinda like...

~_zzzzzz_~

_"Dumb kid!" the Rocket yelled._

_Ash simply smiled, "Hey I'm not on my butt though."_

~_zzzzzz_~

_"Well, I know you've got a job to do, but If you get the time, come and play cards with us," Jeremy smiled._

_"Sure. If Vane doesn't make me do more of his little errands," Ash retorted._

_All five grunts laughed and Jeremy turned to the others, "I love this guy!"_

~_zzzzzzzzz_~

AHHHHH! AGH!" Jeremy howled, "He was that Ketchum kid! I see the resemblance now! That little... grah! I woulda rung his neck if I had figured it out!" Jeremy said angrily. Vane placed a hand on Jeremy to calm him down.

"So now we know Ketchum was a part of this... So what about his friends? I saw about half of them..." Vane said and described the tower group.

"They sound familiar. I think they were the ones who screwed us up at Mt. Moon," Chas said, "One of them got hurt and the Ketchum kid stayed behind to distract us. His pokemon are powerful."

"He's right. We saw him not even a week ago on our mission. His Rapidash nearly took out our entire squad. A wild Nidoking attacked us though... I think our Ketchum problem is solved because once everyone re-grouped we found his restraints near a cliff that were burnt and the cliffside was torn up. I think that Nidoking did him in," Roman stated emotionlessly.

"Ha! That worm is dead! That's great!" Jeremy grinned.

Jessie and James and Meowth stole a quick glance at each other in fear.

"Wait... What color was the Nidoking?" Chas asked.

"Huh? Oh well it was a strange color, blue I think, why do you ask?" Roman questioned.

"I think our Ketchum problem is bigger than we thought. That Nidoking is definitely his. He fought against us with it," Chas stated.

"So your saying an eighteen almost nineteen year-old boy had the idea to fake his death?" Vane asked, bewildered.

"No... That... that little," Jeremy growled.

"Hmmm..." Giovanni said, "So he knows how to effectively fool our agents..." Giovanni said and glared at Jeremy, "And his pokemon are powerful enough to fight a squadron off and he's clever enough to try and fake his own death?" Giovanni said, looking at Chas and Roman, "Hmmmm... He would make an even better admin than you, Vane." Giovanni glanced at one of his admins who looked back at him in disbelief.

"Sir..." Vane said finally.

"It's truly a shame he's our enemy and not an ally... Well he must be taken care of... If any of you happen to come across him... bring him to me. I would like to speak to Mr. Ketchum... again... I first met him in Unova... He caused problems there too... Otherwise he seems to not know any of our major plans and is only stopping us when he notices our presence," Giovanni said before turning to Jessie, James, and Meowth, "You three know the boy more than anyone, correct?"

"Yes... Yes sir," Jessie nodded.

"Spy on him and his group the best you can. I also seem to owe you three an apology..." Giovanni began.

"Sir?" James asked in shock.

"You used to always tell me about his powerful Pikachu... I thought you three were nuts, but now I guess I should've at least kept an eye on its trainer more," Giovanni said.

"Oh... Thank you sir..." Meowth replied uneasily.

"Yes well... You three are dismissed... I still have some things I wish to discuss with Vane and these others," Giovanni replied.

Jessie, James, and Meowth walked away; they then heard something that made their blood go cold.

"Sir... After you talk to the boy, what do you plan to do to him? And his friends?" Vane asked.

"Well If I'm correct, then his friends are acquaintances that have also attempted to stop me in the past... They are enemies to Team Rocket... So they will pay the price for interfering... Team Rocket doesn't take kindly to meddlers," Giovanni smirked before stroking Persian.

Jessie, James, and Meowth looked at each other in fear and then sadness as they walked further away...

-=-=-=-=-=-=Ash's group-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Wow... This is great..." Gary said, as he sunk further into the hot spring.

"Yeah..." Drew murmured in bliss.

"I can't believe it's still here," May said happily; she blushed when she felt Drew's hand hold hers under the murky water and she smiled at him in turn.

"CANNON-BALL!" Max shouted and hit the water with a splash.

"Easy, Max!" Dawn said, laughing.

"Nice one," Ritchie smiled.

"Well I don't know if I should be happy from the heat or Cress should be happy from the water," Chili said.

"How about you both are?" Cilan grinned.

"Sounds good to me brother," Cress smiled back.

"I love this sooooo much. How far are we from the tree, anyways?" Iris asked.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Paul tilted his head and opened his eyes from his relaxed state.

"Just a few more hours," Ash said.

"Yeah sounds about right from what I remember," Brock nodded.

"Man I wish there was a hot spring near the tree... Wait I never asked, Ash, where will we sleep?" Misty asked.

Everyone turned to Ash expectantly.

"There's plenty of room in the tree," Ash smiled.

"Yeah but won't the blobs eat us?!" Max asked, worried.

"Naw, I can get you guys a few crystals like mine. I'll walk in first and get them and come back out to give them to you," Ash nodded.

"Okay sounds good," Gary said before placing his arms behind his head and relaxing again.

"Don't worry Misty. There isn't a hot spring at the tree but, there is water to swim in," Ash smiled.

"Great!" Misty said before scooting closer to him.

Pikachu and Ellie sat nearby and enjoyed the warmth of the rocks. Eventually the group started to travel again towards the tree after they got changed back into their clothes. After a few hours the tree finally came into view. The crystals glistened in the light of the sun and some flying types took flight from the top of the formation.

"Oh wow..." Misty said, "I had no idea it was that big."

"It's huge!" Iris said.

"So beautiful," Dawn smiled.

"It really is something," Drew replied.

"I never had any idea something like this existed in Kanto," Paul whispered.

"What an amazing sight," Cilan said, getting awed nods from his brothers.

"How fascinating..." Gary said.

"Incredible," Ritchie grinned.

Ash then led them closer. As they approached they suddenly heard droning and found themselves surrounded by Regice, Regirock, and Registeel.

"Oh no," Max grimaced.

Everyone started to reach for a pokeball and Ash stopped them, "Wait they're just doing their job." Ash stepped forward and bowed to them and before pooling aura into his pendant and letting it glow brightly. The pokemon then relaxed but stood firm.

"I'll go in and get your crystals... Pikachu, Ellie you guys keep them company," Ash smiled and then disappeared into the dark cave in front of them.

After about twenty minutes Ash came back, "Here." Ash passed out the crystals on strings to everyone and they put them on.

"Hey Ash? Where'd you get the string?" Misty asked.

She looked up after he didn't answer and saw everyone was staring at something. She followed their gaze,

"Mew?" Mew mewled and floated around Ash's shoulder.

"Oh my..." Gary muttered and soon fainted.

"Oops," Ash smiled sheepishly as Brock and Drew helped prop Gary up.

"Mew... mew," Mew spoke before floating over to each of the people in the group.

"Hello there," Cilan smiled.

"Heya," Ritchie greeted.

"Greetings," Paul nodded.

"Hi again," May grinned.

Mew did this for everyone and then poked Gary who woke up, "Huh? Oh! Whoa..."

Mew finally floated over to Misty and looked into her eyes as she spoke, "Hi there... It's been a while. I remember..."

"Mew! mew mew!" Mew said happily and floated rapidly around Misty; she then moved to Ash and laid in his arms as Pikachu and Ellie came up his shoulders and Ellie introduced herself to Mew.

Ash smiled and then spoke, "Okay everyone, this way."

Mew started to fly away ahead of them. Most of the way through the tunnels everyone was silent taking in the sights. Finally they breached the exit to the cave and found themselves in the central cavern with its large lake and various pokemon inhabitants.

"Here we are," Ash said finally.

"Awesome," Dawn said smiling.

Suddenly everyone felt rumbling.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"I don't know!" Brock shouted.

"Ash?" Misty asked.

"Oh no..." Ash said and looked forward. Everyone soon saw a dust cloud. They could see a crowd of pokemon stampeding towards them. They then realized the pokemon approaching were all Ash's. Ash was quickly tackled by the large group of pokemon,

"AAAAHHGK!" Ash yelped as he was thrown to the ground and surrounded.

Ash began to laugh happily, "HA HA HA GUYS!"

Everyone in the group smiled as they scanned the group and spotted familiar pokemon.

Pikachu and Ellie watched from the side, the familiars in the group of pokemon included:

Charizard, Emboar, Samurott, Serperior, Unfezant, Scrafty, Levanny, Semitoad, Krookodile, Gigalith, Venusaur, Kinger, Muk, Tauros, Snorlax, Heracross, Meganium and her son, Chikorita, Typhlosion, Feraligator, Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Crawdaut, Torkoal, Glalie, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Floatzel, Garchomp, Blastoise, Primape, Gliscor, Pigeot, and Lapras. Butterfree floated nearby with a pink Butterfree and they noticed that there were a few Caterpie cooeing beneath them. Greninja, Talonflame, a Go-goat, a Pangoro, and a huffy Tyrunt wandered around the group as well trying to get to Ash to get their turn to greet. Every one of Ash's old pokemon had fully evolved except for Pikachu of course and the little Tyrunt, though the fossil pokemon looked quite large, indicating he might evolve soon.

They then noticed a few of the new comers from the last year, namely, Lucario, Zoroark, Meinfoo, Cubone, Rapidash, Nidoking, Espeon, Jolteon, Tyranitar, Kingdra, and a familiar looking Gengar.

The group laughed happily at the gathering and said hello again to the pokemon they were familiar with. They released their own... All of them. Iris revealed she had a Zwelious which impressed many in the group. Everyone got settled in and decided to change to swim.

"Ash? Is there a place us ladies can change in private?" Dawn asked.

"Oh yeah. Sure right this way girls," Ash smiled and the four girls soon trailed behind him. He was already changed into his trunks as he led them up a cliffside. He then showed them a small cave, "Sorry I hope you girls don't mind changing together."

"It's okay Ash," May smiled.

"Yeah no need to worry," Dawn nodded.

"Yuck it's cold in here, can't wait to get in the water," Iris murmured and walked forward some.

"Thanks Ash, see you in a minute," Misty said and kissed his cheek and he turned and walked down the ramp to the field. Soon the girls walked down and got in the water.

"Hey... Where's Ash?" Misty asked.

"Hellloooo!"

Everyone looked up and saw Ash up on a high cliff over the water.

"Ash! Get down from there, before you hurt yourself!" Misty growled up at him.

"Quite high up there aren't you, Ash?" Cilan said.

"Don't be a little kid, Get down here!" Iris yelled up.

"Did someone say, Get down?" Ash grinned mischievously.

"No! No, Ash Ketchum! That's not what she meant!" Misty yelled.

Too late. Ash disappeared and then ran up and leapt off of the cliff ledge. He did a successful dive though not extraordinarily, graceful. With a small splash, he entered the water. Misty glared at Ash as his head slowly rose out of the water next to her.

"You're an idiot," Misty said.

"Maybe... but I'm your idiot, right?" Ash said, now swimming normally next to her.

"Yeah," Misty relented and smiled.

"Geez why don't you two get a room?" Gary said, getting some snickers from the group.

Misty started swimming over to Gary with her mallet raised and Ash grabbed her arm trying to hold her back, "Mist, Mist! If you hit him here he'll drown."

"How the heck do you do that!? You have a bikini on! Where'd your mallet come from!?" Gary shouted, trying to swim a bit further away.

"Trade secret," Misty said with squinted eyes and let the mallet come back under the water's surface.

Everyone continued to enjoy themselves swimming and interacting with the pokemon both theirs and the wild ones that lived there. All the pokemon introduced themselves to each other especially any new comers. Bunaery didn't seem to notice Ellie's irritation when she glomped poor Pikachu, however; Ellie didn't bother her and neither did Pikachu for the time being. Brock and the Striation brothers cooked a large meal and made a lot of food for the pokemon. Everyone ate together, after changing back into their clothes, and had a good time. Ash then got up to walk. He started heading for another ramp, when Misty stopped him.

"Where you going, Ash?" Misty asked and the group turned to look. They noticed Pikachu, Lucario, Zoroark, and Meinfoo were following him.

"Oh... Well... Whenever I come here... I go and give my respects to Sir Aaron and his Lucario... At least where they passed," Ash said with a weak smile.

"I think I want to come..." May said and rose with sadness lacing her voice.

"Yeah," Max nodded solemnly.

"I agree," Brock said with some seriousness.

Soon everyone got up, feeling the need to follow. Ellie joined them and they started ascending to the heart of the Tree. They finally reached the chamber and Ash walked over to the crystals on the ground where Aaron and Lucario had given their lives... Mew floated down from the ceiling and hovered near everyone as they sat in honored silence.

"Thank you... and I miss you Lucario..." Ash said finally and rose.

"How exactly did they die, Ash?" May asked, "We weren't in the room when it happened..."

"They both gave their aura to Mew..." Ash said simply; he looked over and saw two time flowers, "I could show you if you want... There are the time flowers... there," Ash said and pointed.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded.

"We want to see, Ash," Brock said.

"Yeah, Especially us who knew Lucario," Max spoke.

Ash nodded and walked over to the flowers, first he touched the one with the memory of Sir Aaron...

_zzzzzzzzz_~Time flower one~_zzzzzzzzzz_

_"Mew! Mew! I know you're here, please come out!" Aaron shouted._

_"Cawwww!" A Ho-oh landed and turned into Mew, who floated down to greet Sir Aaron._

_"I realize that you and this tree are one... Please use my power to save the people and stop this war," Aaron said with sadness._

_"Mew..." Mew nodded reluctantly. No one could refute the pain in her eyes._

_Aaron then began the process of giving his aura to Mew. He grew weaker and weaker and finally pushed out the last of his energy with a shout, "The Aura is with me!"_

_After the power was transferred, Aaron stumbled back and landed next to the pillar of crystal. The group watched sadly as Aaron began to convulse slightly. Aaron spoke his last words to Lucario... He spoke of his choices in life and that he regret nothing. He then passed away..._

_zzzzzzzzz_~Time flower two~_zzzzzzzzzz_

_Lucario, Ash, Pikachu, and Kidd entered the room. They talked about what's going on... They look as though they were watching Sir Aaron's sacrifice..._

Ash explained to the group that aura can't be mirrored, so that's why they can't watch two time events at once.

_Mew then floated weakly over to the center of the room. Lucario declared he was going to help Mew and give his aura. _

_"No you can't! You'll end up like Sir Aaron," Kidd said in shock._

_"I know," Lucario replied._

_"Lucario..." Ash spoke._

_"Pika chu..." Pikachu mumbled._

_Lucario tried to start giving his power to Mew but failed, "It's not working... I'm not strong enough."_

_Ash walked over to Aaron's gloves and picked them up, "You said I have the same aura as Sir Aaron, right? Let's put it to the test," Ash worked hard and formed a small sphere with the gloves._

_"Ash..." Lucario murmured. Ash approached and began to form an Aura sphere and Lucario soon copied him._

_"Ash you can't do this," Kidd said._

_"If I don't then the pokemon in the tree will die... so will we and all the people who live near the tree. I can't give up," Ash said before pushing more energy from his body and shuddering from the pain._

_"PikaPi!" Pikachu shouted._

_The process was almost complete. Lucario glanced at Ash who was starting to look weak. Lucario looked at Mew and saw her start to glow green. He then shoved Ash out of the way._

_"Lucario!" Ash shouted once he recovered from the shove._

_"Leave the rest to me, Ash," Lucario said. He then focused back on Mew, "The Aura is with me!"_

_Lucario completed the process. Mew flew away and went up to the heart of the tree and began to heal it. Lucario stumbled and fell. Ash tried to comfort him. Lucario convulsed a few times and they both looked as though they were watching another time flower... Lucario then passed away and joined with Sir Aaron, before their energy disappeared as two orbs of light._

_The time flower then closed..._

~_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_~

Everyone was silent for a while. Though they had heard the story of what happened in this chamber, to watch it was different. Most of the girls teared up and the guys frowned in sadness.

"They were true heroes," Drew finally broke the silence.

"No doubt," Cress nodded.

**They were true guardians. I can only hope to become even slightly as honorable as them.**

**Yeah...**

**_They will always be remembered for their bravery._**

Misty nodded and then gripped Ash tightly. This was the second time recently she had watched her boyfriend almost die...

"You almost went with them," Paul spoke suddenly. Ash turned to him,

"Yeah... I knew there was no other way. I was going to die anyway if the tree died... It only made sense," Ash murmured. Paul seemed to be contemplating something but said no more.

"Lucario knew you had promise."

Everyone turned and looked at Gary.

"Huh?" Iris asked.

"Lucario probably used his aura and could sense you had promise as an Aura Guardian. Maybe even he knew the world needed more guardians again," Gary nodded and everyone grew silent.

"Aaron was a brave man. I couldn't imagine having to do something like that... I don't think," Chili shuttered slightly.

**_He was a good friend..._**

Everyone looked up and saw Mew, looking on sadly.

"Did you just speak?" Misty asked.

**_Yeah... I wait for a while before I speak in front of people... I knew Ash was bringing friends but I wanted to make sure I could trust all of you... I know you have come to ask me things... I can help some._**

Everyone then sat down to talk with Mew about the questions they had.

**_So... my guardian, Ashton... Friends... What questions have you for me?_**

"First of all, we were wondering about an egg we came across," Ash started to speak.

**_An egg..._**

"You know I'm capable of sensing the type of pokemon in eggs... Well this egg that the League is in possession of is quite strange. I can't sense what's in it, it seems to have a seal of some sort on it, and I can tell for whatever reason that it won't hatch for another year... if ever. Lady Mew... Have you ever heard about anything like this?" Ash asked.

**_Hmmm... Yes I have. Eggs like that are rare. They contain very powerful pokemon inside them... You know... Arceus is said to have come from an egg though he doesn't talk much to any of us about such things. Perhaps something has happened somewhere... An imbalance of sorts... An energy of a legendary might have had to be reborn into the egg..._**

"Holy cow! Are you serious? You have any idea what this could mean for the pokemon research community?!" Gary jumped up, excitedly.

"Easy, Gary..." Ash smiled, "Mew... Do you have any idea what this imbalance could be? Because It might have to do with my second question."

**_Hmmm... I can't be sure... Most of my time is spent here. You know the saying... With great power comes great responsibility and all that. What is it? The second thing you inquire about?_**

Ash then told Mew about their experience in the Unknown Dungeon, the writing on the wall, what they had figured out on their own, and Mewtwo's input.

**_I see... I can't tell you much about that... Although I can confirm that I've been noticing the same unease as of late... Mewtwo's instincts are not without foundation. Anything else you can tell me?_**

Ash told her about his dream.

**_Hmmm... Those places are obscure... It's a shame that you don't remember them... Although you do know you've been to those places before... A couple things that do strike me as odd is the start of you dream and then the end... The beginning you say you are staring at a blue orb... filled with aura? The only thing that could possibly be is the Soul dew._**

"The Soul dew... The Soul dew!" Ash said, "That's the first place in my dream! Altomare!"

Brock and Misty explained to everyone their story of Latias and Latios.

**_It seems these places are places you've been before like you said. I would visit all the places you can think of that you may have met legends... I suggest you visit Samiya first since it is close to Johto this time of year... Once you leave here go to Cherrygrove city and visit the sea. You will know what to do then..._**

"Oh! You mean I'll get to see Manaphy again?" May asked excitedly.

"Looks like it, May. I think Samiya was in my dream too. I could see the temple underwater," Ash smiled.

**_As for the Soul dew... You said in your dream it cracked and the water came forth in a wave... Perhaps... it is symbolic... perhaps something has happened... to Latias._**

"Latias..." Ash whispered with sadness.

**_You still need to go to Samiya first though. Regardless of whether it has already happened or is to happen you cannot prevent it. Samiya is the first place you must go since it is difficult to find. About this time of year is the only time I know where it is because I can sense it._**

Ash gritted his teeth, "Okay... I understand."

**_Now as for the end of your dream... It concerns me. You see... I was around during the age of the Aura Hunters... I saw what they did after Sir Aaron's death. The countless innocents they had slain. The man in your dream in shadows that spoke... He is a Dark one... a user of aura that is evil. He, I believe, used the Night daze technique on you..._**

"No wonder when Grings' Zoroark used that on me it felt familiar..." Ash said and pondered the thought.

**_Grings? Hmmmm... yes I believe Celebi of the Sinnoh Provence told me about him... A fellow who desires the power to see glimpses of the future as Celebi does. It is odd that he would know how to greatly harm an Aura guardian without being told... by someone. I would be careful my friends... I feel great disaster is coming, but I am equally as confident that all of you will have a hand in preventing complete calamity... Anyways I must depart... I have things I must attend to. I hope I was of some help. Enjoy your stay here and be safe my dear friends._**

"We're your friends? You trust us just like that?" Paul asked with skepticism, Mew was a legendary pokemon after all.

**_I sense unease in your heart... But if Sir Ashton trusts you... I do as well... But I also can sense goodness in your heart... We all make mistakes, young one... We all must learn. Even I had to learn discipline, compassion, loss... Don't underestimate what love is capable of... You may even surprise yourself. Goodbye for now. You know what to do to find me._**

"Goodbye, Mew!" Iris smiled.

"Farewell, Lady Mew," Ash said and bowed slightly.

Mew nodded and then flew away though the hole in the chamber's ceiling.

The group decided that they needed to try and fit both their journey for the Master Challenge and the need to heal the lands' hearts into one if possible. They agreed that once they made it to Johto, that they would travel to Cherrygrove like Mew had asked. Ash then turned to Meinfoo,

"Meinfoo since we are here in this chamber, would you like to link with me here?" Ash asked.

**_If you are okay with that, Master._**

Ash nodded and sat cross-legged on the floor. Meinfoo approached him.

The group watched from the side with Lucario, Zoroark, Pikachu, and Ellie.

Ash touched Menifoo on the head. Meinfoo started to glow and Ash's pendant did as well... The memories soon started...

_zzzzzzzzzzzz_~Meinfoo's memory~_zzzzzzzzzzz_

_Many Meinfoo were playing. Two were separate from the group; they were talking to one another. One of them is Ash's Meinfoo the other was a smaller Meinfoo,_

_"I'm sorry that you are upset," Ash's Meinfoo said._

_"I just wish you didn't have to leave... I want to be chosen to go into training as well," The smaller Meinfoo replied._

_"Hmmm..." Ash's Meinfoo listened._

_"I will also miss you, friend," The smaller Meinfoo stated._

_Silence ensued for a moment._

_"How about... How about I promise to face you in combat once you are trained as well? I promise we will see each other again. When we do, we will fight and spar as we used to," Ash's Meinfoo said with a smile._

_The smaller and younger Meinfoo brightened up, "Yes! Yes I would very much love that."_

_A monk entered the area and walked over to them. The rest of the Meinfoo paused from their play._

_"It is time, I left then," Ash's Mienfoo stated._

_"Goodbye... then. You promise, right?" The small Meinfoo asked._

_"I promise," Ash's Meinfoo said before getting up and beginning to follow the monk, "Goodbye for now, friend."_

_Ash's Meinfoo then turned and didn't look back. The memory slowly faded._

_zzzzzzzz~_Ash's memory_~zzzzzzzzz_

_"Max... Max," Ash said as he approached the young boy on the swing._

_"Yeah..." Max said sadly._

_"What's wrong?" Ash asked with a friendly smile._

_"I'm really going to miss you and Brock... and watching you battle with May made me want to grow up even faster so I can be a trainer..." Max said and looked up._

_"Hmmm... Yeah. I can remember how excited I was to become a trainer," Ash scratched his head and then looked like he had and idea, "How about this... Once you become a trainer how about I promise to battle you? A reserved match with the future pokemon Master, you could say," Ash grinned._

_"Yeah right," Max smirked causing Ash to face-fault._

_"But yeah... I'd really like that, Ash. YEAH! A battle with you would be awesome!" Max smiled happily and jumped up from the swing._

_"That's the spirit," Ash smiled back as Max then started walking forward._

_'Huh... I wonder if this is what it is like to have a sibling? I hope I said the right things.' Ash thought before the sound of a loud whistle startled him from said thoughts._

_"Crud! That's your boat!" Ash yelped._

_"Ahh!" Max shouted as well before running off towards the pier with Ash..._

_The memory started to then fade..._

_zzzzzzzz~_End of Memories_~zzzzzzzzz_

Both Ash and Meinfoo then broke from the link and sighed.

"So what is that part of me?" Ash asked Meinfoo.

**_If Pikachu is your loyalty, Lucario is your strength, and Zoroark is your emotion... Then that must mean I am your wisdom._** Meinfoo answered.

"Wisdom?" Gary asked skeptically and Ash glared at him.

**_Yes... Is there a problem with that?_**

"No, no... Nothing at all," Gary said nervously as he noticed Misty glaring at him now as well.

"So... Each of your links represents a part of you?" Cilan asked Ash.

"Yeah... At least that's what Lucario told me once," Ash replied.

**_I need to now meditate to unleash my aura._**

"Oh ok. How long you need?" Ash asked.

**_Just a moment, if you all can be quiet for a few minutes._**

Everyone agreed and after a moment they watched as aura pulsed around Meinfoo once he had started to meditate. Once he was done, his red portions turned blue.

"Kinda like Zororak, huh?" May said.

**_Yes Lady May._**

"Hey Ash... I didn't realize I was that important of a memory to you," Max said suddenly.

Ash looked at his young friend and smiled, "All my friends are Max. You're like a little brother to me, really. I know I'm kinda like Brock's little brother... Then again Brock's like the mother of our little family, eh Brocko?" Ash grinned.

"Yeah, mother..." Brock sulked.

After cheering Brock back up, the group returned to the field and set up for the night. They planned to leave tomorrow to head for Johto. Ash took a while to say goodbye to most of his pokemon and telling them to keep training with one another, before coming to bed with everyone. As the group lay there on their backs talking, Ash spoke,

"You guys want a cool night light? Since there are no stars in here?" Ash asked suddenly.

"Umm... Sure, why?" Misty asked.

Ash smiled and let his pupils and pendant glow. The ceiling then lit up with light from the crystals in the ceiling.

"Wicked," Ritchie grinned.

"Beautiful," Dawn whispered.

"Nice little magic trick, Ashy-Boy," Gary snickered slightly before rolling over. Ash just chuckled.

"Night everyone," Ash said before rolling over. Pikachu and Ellie came and curled up next to him. Misty watched as Cubone snuck over from the large group of Ash's pokemon and crawled over and curled up next to him, Pikachu, and Ellie.

"You still promise to have a battle with me, Ash?" Max asked in the darkness.

"Of course, Max. Hey! If we don't end up battling in the Master's Challenge then I'll battle you anyway, ok?" Ash said.

"Okay!" Max replied.

"Oh and Meinfoo?" Ash asked.

**_Yes Master?_** The pokemon's voice rose from a slight distance away.

"We'll find your friend and you'll get to battle him one day," Ash spoke, "I promise."

**_Thank you Master. I appreciate it greatly._**

"Night," Everyone said happily, before sleep overcame them.

_** ~End Arc~**_

**zzzzzzzzzzzz**

_**Meinfoo talking unless stated otherwise**_

**zzzzzzzzzzzz**

**Alright so I finally get to explain this part of the story. Remember how Zoroark used to be more often seen with Dark ones? Well this is why. For whatever reason Zoroark were able to develop this Night daze technique, originally and specifically for hunting Aura guardians. After time passed and the age of Aura hunters and Guardians had passed the technique merely became known and only remembered as another attack and no one really questioned why Zorua and Zoroark were the only pokemon that could learn it without aid.**

**Next the Natu XD Oh wow, guys... seriously I didn't plan that. Seriously don't credit me with this cleverness. I was just looking for variety in the type of pokemon used for the bad guys to teleport away with in certain situations, like Vane and his Abra. Natu just happened to be one of the few pokemon that can learn the move so I popped him in there. It wasn't until much later that I realized Natu/Xatu are pokemon that supposedly see the future... Natu is owned by a man who used to be able to see the future... 0_0 like I said, amazing coincidence!**

**Okay, I don't know if this is all that noticeable but I wanted to explain. I'm sorry if Ash has been a little broody about worrying over his friends' fates. I don't want him to become a brooding rain-cloud at all, but he did have a very frightening nightmare about their fate as well as Ash just being as selfless as he most often is for the sake of his pokemon and friends. He will be this way for a bit longer at random times up until the middle or so of the Johto Arc. He will then try to put it behind him. Again it might not been that noticeable, until of course I pointed it out T_T Anywho I'm going to try to manage it correctly :)**

**Alright before anyone says that Ash met Giovanni before at Mt. Quena... I just wanted to note that yes he did, but Giovanni doesn't remember that meeting(Mewtwo memory wipe), only the one in Unova. Just a reminder :D**

**I realize this might have been a good chance to throw in some pokemon speech and such, but I realized that since everyone else also released their pokemon inside the tree that would have been a bazillion pokemon to talk and that could've made two chapters all on its own most likely! So for now no more talking for them. Do not fear though, they will talk again probably once or twice a region/arc. It was never intended to be a major part of the story anyway. Pokemon's personality can come through through their actions almost as well. Also Pikachu and Ellie aren't an item yet so they didn't really say anything to Buneary, yet.**

**Answers to questions:**

**Fan: I'm so pleased I could cause such a strong emotion :D I feel like Brock deserves someone. An award for tenacity! XD**

**Anywho, Congradulations! You've all made it to the end of the Intro and Kanto Arc! WHOO!**

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**ALRIGHT HERE'S THE LINK TO THE JOHTO ARC(If not there it isn't posted yet):**

s/10153824/1/The-Master-Challenge-Johto-Arc

**zzzzzzzzzzzz**

Sorry guys I can't seem to add the first part of the link...

https www fanfiction net -

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**Review, Follow, Favorite, and Enjoy! :D**


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